The kinetics of electroreduction of europium(III) cations at bismuth single-crystal electrode

Electroreduction of Eu(ClO₄)₃ and Eu₂(SO₄)₃ has been studied at electrochemically polished \textBi( 01`1] ) {\text{Bi}}\left( {01\bar{1}} \right) single-crystal electrode in an acidic HClO₄ or H₂SO₄ (pH ~3) aqueous solution with LiClO₄ or Na₂SO₄ additions as a surface inactive electrolyte. The Eu³⁺ cations electroreduction rate depends on the electrode potential applied and the concentration of the supporting electrolyte as well as the concentration of the Eu³⁺ ions. At the more negative electrode potentials than the zero charge potential (zcp), the diffusion current plateaus were observed. The values of the rate constant for the heterogeneous reaction calculated at zcp are independent of the base electrolyte concentration studied. Analysis of the kinetic data corrected for the electrical double-layer effect shows that the coincidence of the corrected Tafel plots can be achieved, assuming that the effective charge of a reactant (+1.6) is significantly lower than it would be expected (z _A = +3).