Adsorption of anions on ultra-thin metal deposits on single-crystal electrodes: II: Voltammetric and radiochemical study of bisulfate adsorption on Pt(111) and Pt(poly) electrodes containing copper adatoms

The formation of ultra-thin metal deposits of copper on Pt(111) and polycrystalline platinum electrodes, as well as the adsorption of bisulfate on the copper-covered platinum surfaces, were studied by cyclic voltammetry and radioactive labeling. The highest charge obtained by voltammetry in the underpotential stripping range nearly corresponds to a close-packed monolayer of copper. The radioactive labeling data indicate that there are inactive and active copper adlayers toward bisulfate adsorption. The transition from inactive to active behavior is interpreted in terms of an increase in surface—bisulfate interactions at the expense of surface—perchlorate interactions. Based on recent X-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy (XANES) analysis of copper deposition onto platinum, the site for bisulfate adsorption is most probably a Cu⁺ surface species. Combining this spectroscopic information with coulometry shows that an additional electron is confined to surface platinum atom(s) covered by the copper species. The copper film attains bulk copper properties when approximately 2.5 monolayers of copper are deposited.