Generalized scheme of chemisorption,electrooxidation and electroreduction of simple organic compounds on platinum group metals

A generalized scheme of successive stages for chemisorption, electrooxidation and electroreduction of simple organic compounds from methane to CO₂ on platinum group metals has been developed on the basis of experimental data. The actual pathway of electrooxidation or electroreduction of an organic compound and the yield of the reaction products depend on the ratio between the rates of individual steps which, in their turn, are determined by various factors (potential, temperature, coverage of the surface with H_ads and OH_ads, with reacting and intermediate organic particles, as well as with foreign particles). The accumulation of chemisorbed compounds on the electrode surface depends on the relationship between the rates of their formation and subsequent transformation.