Layered two-dimensional (2D) materials display great potential for a range of applications, particularly in electronics. We report the large-scale synthesis of thin films of platinum diselenide (PtSe2), a thus far scarcely investigated transition metal dichalcogenide. Importantly, the synthesis by thermal assisted conversion is performed at 400 {deg}C, representing a breakthrough for the direct integration of this novel material with silicon (Si) technology. Besides the thorough characterization of this new 2D material, we demonstrate its promise for applications in high-performance gas sensing with extremely short response and recovery times observed due to the 2D nature of the films. Furthermore, we realized vertically-stacked heterostructures of PtSe2 on Si which act as both photodiodes and photovoltaic cells. Thus this study establishes PtSe2 as a potential candidate for next-generation sensors and (opto-)electronic devices, using fabrication protocols compatible with established Si technologies.