Issue 3, 2012

Towards a detailed in situ characterization of non-stationary electrocatalytic systems

Abstract

A complementary combination of cyclic voltammetry, impedance spectroscopy and quartz crystal microbalance techniques was used to: (i) control the assembly of a model electrocatalytic system consisting of monolayer and sub-monolayer amounts of Ag and Pb on a Au electrode, (ii) evaluate the system performance for the reduction of NO3 and (iii) study the disassembly of the electrocatalytic system to explore any changes which occurred during the assembly and/or catalytic stages. Physical models of the electrochemical interface (described in terms of equivalent electric circuits) at all stages are found to be considerably different but consistent with each other. Deposition of the Ag atomic layer on Au is accompanied by spontaneous surface alloying and specific adsorption of anions. In the following, deposition of the Pb atomic layer triggers further alloying in the Agad/Au layer while perchlorate-ions leave the surface. Approximately 1/3 of the Pb atomic layer on Agad/Au was found to demonstrate the best activity towards nitrate reduction. The developed experimental approach shows promise for the in situ characterization and control of all the non-stationary stages which are usually of particular importance in electrocatalytic research.

Graphical abstract: Towards a detailed in situ characterization of non-stationary electrocatalytic systems

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
31 Jul 2011
Accepted
18 Nov 2011
First published
13 Dec 2011

Analyst, 2012,137, 631-640

Towards a detailed in situ characterization of non-stationary electrocatalytic systems

M. Huang, J. B. Henry, B. B. Berkes, A. Maljusch, W. Schuhmann and A. S. Bondarenko, Analyst, 2012, 137, 631 DOI: 10.1039/C1AN15671C

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements