The mechanism of tin-promoted electrochemical oxidation of organic substances on platinum

The promoting action of tin in the binary system platinum tin has been studied. A direct correlation of polarization and adsorption measurements has been carried out using an adsorption method of applying the promoter. The method of fast potentiodynamic pulses has been used to control the amount of tin and organic species on the surface. Studies have been made with smooth and platinized electrodes on the adsorption and oxidation of formic acid and methanol. A comparison of electro-oxidation rates at constant organic species coverage has made it possible to reveal the true catalytic effect as a result of introduction of tin. This effect has been found to be independent of both the nature of the substance under oxidation and the state of the electrode surface (smooth or rough). The promoting effect of tin is observed in the reactions where the limiting stage is represented by R+OH_ads; in the reactions where the limiting stage is represented by electron transfer or else the interaction R+H_ads, the promoting effect of tin does not show up, which fact points to the selectivity of its catalytic action.