Electrochemical Properties of Poly-3-methylthiophene Films: A Cyclic Voltammetry and Chronoamperometry Study

The charge transfer in poly-3-methylthiophene films in 0.05–0.5 M LiClO₄ solutions in acetonitrile is studied by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. An analysis of data on the current relaxation following a film perturbation by a low-voltage pulse reveals two constituents of the current relaxation, both exponentially dependent on time. Dependence of parameters of the empirical equation derived for the current relaxation on experimental variables is studied.     

Transport of ionic charge and solvent in poly(3-octylthiophene) films: An electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance study

The results of a study of poly(3-octylthiophene) films with the aid of an electrochemical quartz microbalance are presented. The effect of the nature of the electrolyte anion on the determined weights of mobile species that are transported through the film/electrolyte interface is discussed. The obtained results point to a substantial role played by the solvent transport in the course of the electrode reaction. The results concerning the influence exerted by the electrode material on the observed regularities are presented.     

Effect of the Supporting-Electrolyte Cation on the Chloroplatinite Ion Reduction at a Dropping Mercury Electrode

The effect of nature and concentration of supporting-electrolyte cations (Li⁺, Na⁺, Cs⁺, (CH₃)₄N⁺, Ca²⁺, Ba²⁺) on electroreduction kinetics of PtCl^2- ₄at a dropping mercury electrode is studied. The electroreduction wave for PtCl^2- ₄is complicated by a polarographic maximum of first kind followed by a pronounced plateau of limiting current, after which the current passes through a minimum. The electroreduction occurs probably via two different mechanisms and presumably involves the same species, because the charge z _iof discharging species, determined by the Frumkin–Petrii method, remains virtually constant (z _i –1) on both descending (E= –0.6 to –1.0 V vs. SCE) and ascending (–1.3 to –1.6 V) branches of polarization curves and is independent of the nature of the supporting-electrolyte cation. The mechanism is presumably changed by a changed orientation of discharging species relative to the electrode surface.     

Electrochemical Properties of Poly-o-Phenylenediamine Films in Solutions with Variable Concentration of Hydronium Ions

Electrochemical behavior of poly-o-phenylenediamine (PoPhD) films in lithium perchlorate and perchloric acid solutions of different pH and constant ionic strength is studied using cyclic voltammetry, low-amplitude chronoamperometry, chronopotentiometry, and faradaic-impedance spectroscopy. The experimental results point to the diffusion–migration kinetics of charge transfer processes in redox-active PoPhD films and show that two such processes occur during oxidation–reduction of PoPhD. The processes are separated most fully at low concentrations of hydronium ions. Effect of the electrode potential and electrolyte composition on these processes is examined. Different methods yield similar results and permit their more reliable interpretation.     

Double-Layer Effects in the Electroreduction of Cobalt(III) Trioxalate Complexes to Cobalt(0) Atoms on a Dropping Mercury Electrode

A polarographic investigation of solutions containing trioxalate complexes of Co(III) reveals that the overall electrode process Co(III) Co(0) is accompanied by slow formation of ionic associates between aquacomplexes of Co(II) and trioxalate complexes of Co(III). Use of a relatively high concentration of oxalate ions (0.001 M) quells this association. Under these conditions, it is possible to divide the measured current into two constituents related to the primary electroreduction Co(III) Co(II) and the subsequent process Co(II) Co(0). The earlier data on the rate constant and apparent transfer coefficient for the process Co(II) Co(0) are used for calculating corrected Tafel plots for the electrode reaction Co(III) Co(II). The plots are practically linear and independent of the concentration of the supporting-electrolyte cation in a wide range of potential drops (1 V) across the dense layer. A theoretically expected parallel shift of the plots is observed in solutions with a variable concentration of discharging species. This observation and similar data obtained for a mixed potassium–sodium supporting electrolyte bear testimony to good agreement between the obtained results and the theory.     

Cyclic Voltammetry and the Impedance of Electrodes Modified by Indium(III) Hexacyanoferrate Films

The results of studying indium(III) hexacyanoferrate films by the cyclic voltammetry and faradaic impedance methods are presented. It is shown that the synthesis from solutions with different contents of potassium salts leads to the appearance of films with different electrochemical properties. The impedance spectra exhibit semicircles corresponding to the Randles circuit and portions of the Warburg dependence. Parameters of the equivalent circuit corresponding to the obtained spectra are determined.     

Using the rotating disk electrode for evaluating film porosity of conductive polymers

Conductive polymer (poly-o-phenylenediamine and poly-3-methylthiophene) films were synthesized on a rotating disk electrode. Dependences of the limiting penetration currents on the nature of the polymer and film thickness were obtained in solutions containing electroactive substances (hydroquinone, quinone) reducing or oxidiring at redox potentials beyond the range of polymer electroactivity (selected by adjusting the pH value). The transport of hydroquinone and quinone test species through the pores in polymer films was examined based on the results of these studies, and the degree of film porosity was evaluated.     

Synthesis and study of catalysts of electrochemical oxygen reduction reaction based on polymer complexes of nickel and cobalt with Schiff bases

The article presents the results of studies of new nanosize catalysts of electrochemical oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) obtained using the method of thermal decomposition of polymer complexes of nickel and cobalt with tetradentate (N₂O₂) Schiff bases. The catalysts are characterized using the methods of thermogravimetry, electrochemical quartz microgravimetry, scanning electron microscopy with X-ray microanalysis, XPS. The ORR process on electrodes modified by the above catalysts was studied using the voltammetry and rotating disk electrode techniques. The obtained catalysts manifested high specific activity per initial polymer mass (more than 600 mA/mg).