Methodical aspects of studying the electroreduction of nitrate on modified single crystal Pt(hkl) + Cu electrodes

Technique of modification of basal faces Pt(hkl) by adatoms and epitaxial copper deposits is developed. Analysis of potentiostatic current transients of copper deposition/dissolution and atomic force microscopy showed that the activity of Pt(hkl) faces regarding the processes of copper nucleation and epitaxial growth increases in the sequence of Pt(111) < Pt(110) < Pt(100). The reaction of nitrate anion reduction is sensitive towards the surface structure, not only in the case of platinum, but also in the case of copper deposits (including a monolayer of adatoms). The highest process rate is observed for the Pt(100) electrode modified by a monolayer of adatoms or islands of bulk copper; nitrate reduction at the lowest rate occurs at Pt(111) + Cu electrodes. Structure-sensitive competitive adsorption of background electrolyte and nitrate anions is the factor that largely determines the kinetics of nitrate reduction on different faces of platinum single crystal and copper deposits.     

Mechanism of nitrate electroreduction on Pt(100)

Kinetics and mechanism of nitrate anion reduction on the Pt(100) electrode in perchloric and sulfuric acid solutions are studied. Analysis of the results of electrochemical measurements (combination of potentiostatic treatment and cyclic voltammetry) and the data of in situ IR spectroscopy allow suggesting the following scheme of the nitrate reduction process on Pt(100) differing from that in the literature. If the potential of 0.85 V is chosen as the starting potential for a clean flame-annealed electrode surface and negativegoing (cathodic) potential sweep is applied, then an NO adlayer with the coverage of about 0.5 monolayer is formed on Pt(100) in the nitrate solution already at 0.6 V. The further decrease in the potential results in NO reduction to hydroxylamine or/and ammonia, desorbing products vacate the adsorption sites for nitrate and hydrogen adatoms. At E < 0.1 V, adsorbed hydrogen is mostly present on the surface. During positive-going (anodic) potential sweep, the process of nitrate reduction starts after partial hydrogen desorption, the cathodic peak of nitrate reduction to hydroxylamine or ammonia is observed at 0.32 V on cyclic voltammograms. The process of nitrate anion reduction continues up to 0.7 V; at higher potentials, the surface redox process with participation of hydroxylamine or ammonia (the anodic peak at 0.78 V) and nitrate (the cathodic peak at 0.74 V is due to nitrate reduction to NO on the vacant adsorption sites) occurs.     

Electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance study of copper ad-atoms on gold and platinum electrodes Part I. Adsorption of anions in sulfuric acid

The deposition and dissolution processes of copper ad-atoms on a gold or a platinum electrode in sulfuric acid electrolyte solution were investigated by using the electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance. It was found that the weight loss in the removal of the Cu-adlayer from the Au substrate was considerably larger than that expected from Faraday's law whereas the deviation for the Pt substrate was very small. The adsorption of bisulfate or sulfate anions both on Cu ad-atoms and on the electrode substrates was discussed quantitatively. It was demonstrated that higher coverage with Cu ad-atoms and lower adsorbability with bisulfate or sulfate anions were obtained on the Pt electrode than on the Au, and these effects could be ascribed to the difference in electronegativity between Pt and Au substrates.     

Effect of cadmium and lead adatoms on the reduction kinetics of peroxodisulfate anions at platinized platinum in acid solutions

The reduction of peroxodisulfate anions on a rotating Pt/Pt disk electrode in solutions of sulfuric and perchloric acids with or without cadmium and lead salts is studied. At E _r > 0.2V (RHE) the reduction rate in HClO₄ exceeds that in H₂SO₄, but at E _r < 0.2V, the process in HClO₄ is strongly inhibited upon approaching E _r = 0. Lead adatoms catalyze the process, while cadmium adatoms inhibit it in H₂SO₄ and accelerate it at E _r < 0.2V in HClO₄. The results are interpreted by taking account of the specific adsorption of sulfuric-acid anions and their co-adsorption with cadmium cations, as well as the adsorption of peroxodisulfate anions on the Pt surface modified by lead and cadmium ions in perchlorate solutions.Translated from Elektrokhimiya, Vol. 41, No. 2, 2005, pp. 137–141.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Nikiforova, Petrii.This revised version was published online in April 2005 with corrections to the article note and article title and cover date.     

Effect of adsorption of anions on the kinetics of the copper adatom layer formation at polycrystalline platinum

The formation of copper adatom layers at polycrystalline platinum in sulfate and perchlorate solutions is studied by cyclic voltammetry on a ring-disk electrode. Specific adsorption of anions accelerates the copper underpotential deposition by decreasing the positive potential of the dense part of EDL. Of importance is the anion composition of co-adsorption lattices that form at moderate coverages of platinum by copper. Supermonolayer coatings form under the conditions of strong specific adsorption of anions. In a weakly acid sodium sulfate solution, the surface coverage by copper adatoms reaches 1.7 monolayers.     

Cu UPD at Pt(100) and stepped faces Pt(610), Pt(410) of platinum single crystal electrodes

The processes of adsorption/desorption of copper adatoms on the basal Pt(100) face and stepped Pt(610), Pt(410) surfaces have been studied in perchloric acid solution by cyclic voltammetry. It has been shown that the positions of the Cu stripping peaks are determined by perfection of the adlayer. The “island” model is suggested to describe electrochemical behavior of the Pt(hkl)+Cu_ad system. Obtained results are important for target modification of shape-controlled nanoparticles that are used in electrocatalysis.     

Kinetics of underpotential deposition and nucleation of copper on the Pt(111) face in the presence of acetonitrile

The kinetics of underpotential deposition, three-dimensional nucleation, and growth of copper deposits at cathodic overpotentials on a Pt(111) electrode in solutions containing 0.5 M H₂SO₄, 10 mM CuSO₄, and 0–200 mM acetonitrile (AcN) is studied by the cyclic voltammetry, potentiostatic current transients, and scanning probe microscopy methods. At low volume concentrations of acetonitrile ([AcN] ≤ 4 mM), adsorbed acetonitrile molecules accelerate the formation of a co-adsorption lattice of copper adatoms with anions due to local electrostatic effects at the charged interface. At higher concentrations, the underpotential deposition process is hampered, but the desorption of copper adatoms occurs at potentials more positive than those at low acetonitrile concentrations. This effect is attributed to a stabilizing action of acetonitrile molecules situated on the layer of copper adatoms and, in part, on platinum. At [AcN] = 0.4–40 mM, adsorbed acetonitrile molecules accelerate the growth of the bulk copper deposit, but the nucleation stage is hindered. The dependence of the copper amount on the deposition potential at [AcN] = 40 mM exhibits a maximum at 0.15–0.17 V. This effect was previously observed in weakly acid solutions (pH 1.7–3.0) containing no acetonitrile. The maximum rate of the deposit growth corresponds to an optimum number of crystallites (which is not too great) and an optimum distance between the growing centers in conditions of mixed kinetics “diffusion + electron transfer.” A substantial number of complexes Cu(I)-AcN forms at high acetonitrile concentrations.     

Adsorption Peculiarities of Carbon Monoxide on Iridium Electrodeposits

The transients of current and open-circuit potential observed at CO adsorption on Ir/Pt electrodes in solutions of sulfuric and hydrochloric acids are shown to adequately agree with those theoretically expected. From voltammetric curves of electrooxidation of chemisorbed CO, the values of its adsorption are estimated by making a proper double-layer correction. It is concluded that CO is preferentially adsorbed in the bridge form. During CO adsorption from sulfuric acid solutions on an electrode with a preliminarily accumulated monolayer of copper adatoms (Cu_ad), small negative current are observed and Cu_ad are displaced by 50%. To explain these results, it is assumed that CO is reduced by copper adatoms.     

阴离子特性吸附和Pt(111)电极表面结构对乙二醇解离吸附动力学的影响

运用电化学循环伏安和程序电位阶跃方法研究了阴离子特性吸附和Pt(111)电极表面结构对乙二醇解离吸附反应动力学的影响. 结果表明, 阴离子特性吸附显著影响乙二醇的解离吸附, 在高氯酸介质中(无特性吸附)测得乙二醇解离吸附反应的初始速率vi以及解离吸附物种(DA)的饱和覆盖度均明显大于硫酸溶液(发生SO2-4/HSO-4特性吸附)中的相应值; 其平均速率v随电极电位的变化呈类似火山型分布, 最大值位于0.22 V(vs SCE)附近. 还发现通过不同处理获得的Pt(111)电极的不同表面结构对这一表面过程也具有显著的影响.     

Surface characterization of Pt electrodes using underpotential deposition of H and Cu: Part III. Surface improvement of the flame-annealed Pt(100) and Pt(111) electrodes via potential cycling

In Parts I and II of this series it was shown that the Pt(100) and Pt(111) surfaces pretreated by flame-annealing and quenching in aqueous electrolyte contain a high density of defects such as vacancies, Pt adatoms and clusters of Pt adatoms. In this paper we show that potential cycling including scans into the oxygen region in sulfuric or perchloric acid removes most of these sites and that a limited number of cycles yield hydrogen adsorption-desorption profiles (cyclic voltammograms) that compare favorably with those published by authors who established the structure using electron diffraction techniques. Some loss of longer-range surface order as a result of the potential cycling is indicated by an increase in the width at half-height of the monolayer copper stripping peaks. The possibility of surface improvement in the absence of surface oxidation and reduction is explored by potential cycling in hydrochloric acid.     

Surface characterization of Pt electrodes using underpotential deposition of H and Cu: Part I. Pt(100)

This paper is the first in a series describing the in situ surface characterization of platinum electrodes using H and Cu deposited at underpotentials. The surface of a Pt(100) electrode pretreated by simple flame annealing and quenching in aqueous sulfuric acid is shown to contain a high concentration of defects such as vacancies and self-adsorbed Pt atoms. Adsorbed hydrogen is more strongly bound at these defects than on a uniform Pt(100) surface. Potential cycling in 1 M HCl produces a higher concentration of defects, while oxide formation and reduction in 0.5 M H₂SO₄ has the opposite effect. The nature of (100)-like sites at a polycrystalline platinum electrode is also discussed.     

Electroreduction of peroxodisulfate anion at platinum rotating disc electrode in the cyclic voltammetry mode

Electroreduction of peroxodisulfate anion at smooth polycrystalline and platinized (at different deposition potentials) platinum in perchloric acid and sulfuric acid solutions is studied by rotating disc electrode and cyclic voltammetry techniques. Dependences of the process rate on the electrode rotating velocity, the potential scan rate, the anodic limit of the scanning, the peroxodisulfate anion concentration in the solution and the platinizing conditions are found. The suggestion on the complications in the peroxodisulfate anion reduction caused by adsorbate formation is corroborated, at least, for certain potential region. The reaction structure sensitivity is evidenced, which makes it possible to use the reaction for characterization of the platinized Pt surface structure. The comparing of obtained results with literature data concerning smooth platinum and the single-crystal platinum basis faces allows concluding that the peroxodisulfate anion reduction maximal rate in sulfuric-acid solutions occurs at the potentials close to those observed for the (110) face. When the platinized Pt surface roughness factor exceeds ~30, the peroxodisulfate anion reduction reaction proceeds under the inner-diffusion limitation control. The platinized-Pt rotating disc electrode can serve as model tool in the studying of properties of disperse material microdeposits.     

Mass-transport-limited oxidation of formic acid on a PdMLPt(100) electrode in perchloric acid

In this communication, we study the electrocatalytic formic acid oxidation process on an epitaxially grown Pd monolayer on a Pt(100) single crystal in perchloric acid. The formic acid oxidation activity on this Pd_MLPt(100) electrode in perchloric acid is significantly enhanced compared to the same electrode in sulfuric acid and compared to unmodified Pt(100), with a low onset potential of around 0.14 V_RHE. The absence of hysteresis between the positive and negative scan during formic acid oxidation indicates the remarkable resistance to CO poisoning of the Pd monolayer surface. Most importantly, we report, for the first time, a mass-transport-limited formic acid oxidation rate on the Pd_MLPt(100) rotating electrode in perchlorate acid, setting a catalytic benchmark for future electrocatalysts for formic acid oxidation.     

Oxygen reduction and hydrogen evolution–oxidation reactions on Cu(hkl) surfaces

Taking advantage of the ring collection properties of the rotating ring–disk electrode with a single-crystal copper disk, we have shown that the oxygen reduction reaction and the hydrogen evolution–oxidation reactions on Cu(111) and Cu(100) surfaces in sulfuric acid are structure-sensitive processes. An interpretation of the structural sensitivity is presented, based on the premise of the structure-sensitive adsorption of (bi)sulfate anions. We have observed that the ordering kinetics of the (bi)sulfate on Cu(hkl) have an important role in the mechanism of the oxygen reduction reaction.     

The Effect of Anions and pH on the Activity and Selectivity of an Annealed Polycrystalline Au Film Electrode in the Oxygen Reduction Reaction-Revisited

Aiming at a better understanding of correlations between the activity and selectivity of Au electrodes in the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) under controlled transport conditions, we have investigated this reaction by combined electrochemical and in situ FTIR measurements, performed in a flow cell set-up in an attenuated total reflection (ATR) configuration in acid and alkaline electrolytes. The formation of incomplete reduction products (hydrogen peroxyde/peroxyls) was detected by a collector electrode, the onset of OH_ad formation was probed by bulk CO oxidation. Using an electroless-deposited, annealed Au film on a Si prism as working electrode and three different electrolytes for comparison (sulfuric acid, perchloric acid, sodium hydroxide solution), we could derive detailed information on the anion adsorption behavior, and could correlate this with the ORR characteristics. The data reveal pronounced effects of the anions and the pH on the ORR characteristics, indicated e. g., by a grossly different activity and selectivity for the 4-electron pathway to water/hydroxyls, with the onset ranging from ca. 1.0 V in alkaline electrolyte to 0.6 V in sulfuric acid electrolyte, and the selectivity for the 4-electron pathway ranging from 100 % (alkaline electrolyte, low overpotentials) to 40 % (acidic electrolytes, alkaline electrolyte at high overpotentials). In contrast, the effect of the ORR on the anion adsorption characteristics is small. Anion effects as well as correlations between anion adsorption and ORR are discussed.     

Surface and Subsurface Oxygen on Platinum in a Perchloric Acid Solution

The oxidation of polycrystalline platinum in perchloric acid is studied by cyclic voltammetry at a potential scan rate of 0.1 V s^–1 in various potential cycling ranges. The earlier model for the formation of a barrier layer of strong complexes consisting of subsurface oxygen O_ss, platinum atoms, and anions adsorbed on the latter is shown to correctly describe experimental results on the platinum oxidation in sulfuric and perchloric acids. The regularities in these acids are on the whole similar. A weaker adsorption of perchlorate anions as compared with bisulfate facilitates chemisorption of oxygen at 0.7–0.85 V and hinders exchange by sites Pt O at 0.85–1.35 V. A prolonged potential cycling with a cathodic limit of 0.27 V and low anodic limits leads to the accumulation of surface complexes O_ss–Pt _n –ClO₄, which hinder both the oxygen chemisorption and the exchange Pt O below 1 V. At more positive potentials, the complexes are destroyed and oxygen penetrates into subsurface platinum layers.     

Effect of mass transfer process on hydrogen adsorption on polycrystalline platinum electrode in sulfuric acid solution

The hydrogen adsorption on polycrystalline platinum electrode experimentally as well as on single crystal Pt(110), Pt(100) and Pt(111) electrode theoretically were studied. The study of forced convection on the electrode surface promotes the HUPD research from static process to a convective mode and provides a new strategy to investigate the hydrogen adsorption in solution.     

Electrooxidation of methanol on upd-Ru and upd-Sn modified Pt electrodes

The electrochemical oxidation of methanol has been investigated on underpotentially deposited-ruthenium-modified platinum electrode (upd-Ru/Pt) and on underpotentially deposited-tin-modified platinum electrode (upd-Sn/Pt). The submonolayers of upd-Ru and upd-Sn on a Pt electrode increased the rate of methanol electrooxidation several times as large as that on a pure Pt electrode. The best performance for methanol electrooxidation was obtained on a ternary platinum based catalyst modified by upd-Ru and upd-Sn simultaneously. The influence of the submonolayers of upd-Ru adatoms and upd-Sn adatoms on the oxidation of methanol in acid has been investigated. The effect of Ru on methanol electrooxidation lies on the distribution of Ru adatoms on a Pt surface. It has been shown that as long as the amount of upd-Ru deposits were controlled in a proper range, upd-Ru deposits would enhance the methanol oxidation obtained on a Pt electrode at whichever deposition potential the upd-Ru deposits were obtained. The effects of tin are sensible to the potential range. The enhancement effect of upd-Sn adatoms for the oxidation of methanol will disappear as the electrode potential is beyond a certain value. It is speculated that there exists a synergetic effect on the Pt electrode as adatoms Ru and Sn participate simultaneously in the methanol oxidation.     

Redox transformations of adsorbed NO molecules on a Pt(100) electrode

The electrochemical behavior of adsorbed NO molecules on a Pt(100) electrode has been studied in perchloric acid solutions by means of cyclic voltammetry. According to the literature data, a saturated NO adlayer with a coverage of ～0.5 monolayers (MLs) is formed under open circuit conditions in an acidic nitrite solution as a result of a disproportionation reaction. The saturated adlayer is stable in the potential range of 0.4–0.9 V vs. a reversible hydrogen electrode in 0.1 M HClO₄. NO molecules are oxidized at 0.9–1.1 V with the formation of adsorbed nitrite anions, and they can be reduced to ammonia at potentials less than 0.4 V. In this paper it has been shown that the adlayer stability depends on the surface coverage and extent of ordering. An unsaturated NO adlayer demonstrates NO ? NH₃ redox transformations at 0.5–0.8 V.     

Investigation of oxygen reduction reaction kinetics at (111)-(100) nanofaceted platinum surfaces in acidic media

The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) was studied on CO-treated and untreated (111)-(100) nanofaceted platinum surfaces [Komanicky et al. J. Phys. Chem. 2005, 109, 23543] in sulfuric and perchloric acids using the rotating disk electrode technique. Activities of nanofaceted surfaces are found to be considerably higher than a simple average of the activities of (111) and (100) surfaces. We find that the high activity in sulfuric acid is consistent with the higher activity of (111) facets. It is due the weaker sulfate adsorption on finite-size (111) surfaces than on (111) single crystal surfaces where the ORR activity is suppressed by strong sulfate adsorption. However, the high activity found in the weakly absorbing perchloric acid cannot be explained by the finite-size effect, since the activities are reportedly insensitive to terrace sizes [Macia, M. D.; et al. J.Electroanal. Chem., 2004, 564, 141]. We propose a cooperative activity, unique to nanoscale objects, which results from oxy species crossing over between adjacent facets in nanometer proximities.