As a first step in understanding Pt growth on chiral SrTiO3 surfaces we have examined Pt adsorption on the stepped SrTiO3(6 2 0) and SrTiO3 (6 2 2) surfaces using plane-wave density functional theory. We find that for both stepped SrTiO3 surfaces Pt adsorbs more strongly along the step versus the terrace. We also report on the interface strength of Pt slabs on both terminations of SrTiO3(6 2 0) and (6 2 2). We find that the interface strength is considerably larger than found for Pt slabs on the low-Miller index SrTiO3 surfaces. Our results indicate that step-flow growth of Pt that retains the underlying morphology of the stepped SrTiO3 surface is likely to be favored over island nucleation on terraces. This preliminary work indicates that the growth of thin metal films on chiral metal oxides may be a viable approach to producing cheap chiral metal surfaces. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.