Cargando…

The Potential of Zero Charge and the Electrochemical Interface Structure of Cu(111) in Alkaline Solutions

[Image: see text] Copper (Cu) is a unique electrocatalyst, which is able to efficiently oxidize CO at very low overpotentials and reduce CO(2) to valuable fuels with reasonable Faradaic efficiencies. Yet, knowledge of its electrochemical properties at the solid/liquid interface is still scarce. Here...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Auer, Andrea, Ding, Xing, Bandarenka, Aliaksandr S., Kunze-Liebhäuser, Julia
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: American Chemical Society 2021
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8016203/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33828636
http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.0c09289
_version_ 1783673809624104960
author Auer, Andrea
Ding, Xing
Bandarenka, Aliaksandr S.
Kunze-Liebhäuser, Julia
author_facet Auer, Andrea
Ding, Xing
Bandarenka, Aliaksandr S.
Kunze-Liebhäuser, Julia
author_sort Auer, Andrea
collection PubMed
description [Image: see text] Copper (Cu) is a unique electrocatalyst, which is able to efficiently oxidize CO at very low overpotentials and reduce CO(2) to valuable fuels with reasonable Faradaic efficiencies. Yet, knowledge of its electrochemical properties at the solid/liquid interface is still scarce. Here, we present the first two-stranded correlation of the potential of zero free charge (pzfc) of Cu(111) in alkaline electrolyte at different pH values through application of nanosecond laser pulses and the corresponding interfacial structure changes by in situ electrochemical scanning tunneling microscopy imaging. The pzfc of Cu(111) at pH 13 is identified at −0.73 V(SHE) in the apparent double layer region, prior to the onset of hydroxide adsorption. It shifts by (88 ± 4) mV to more positive potentials per decreasing pH unit. At the pzfc, Cu(111) shows structural dynamics at both pH 13 and pH 11, which can be understood as the onset of surface restructuring. At higher potentials, full reconstruction and electric field dependent OH adsorption occurs, which causes a remarkable decrease in the atomic density of the first Cu layer. The expansion of the Cu–Cu distance to 0.3 nm generates a hexagonal Moiré pattern, on which the adsorbed OH forms a commensurate (1 × 2) adlayer structure with a steady state coverage of 0.5 monolayers at pH 13. Our experimental findings shed light on the true charge distribution and its interrelation with the atomic structure of the electrochemical interface of Cu.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-8016203
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2021
publisher American Chemical Society
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-80162032021-04-05 The Potential of Zero Charge and the Electrochemical Interface Structure of Cu(111) in Alkaline Solutions Auer, Andrea Ding, Xing Bandarenka, Aliaksandr S. Kunze-Liebhäuser, Julia J Phys Chem C Nanomater Interfaces [Image: see text] Copper (Cu) is a unique electrocatalyst, which is able to efficiently oxidize CO at very low overpotentials and reduce CO(2) to valuable fuels with reasonable Faradaic efficiencies. Yet, knowledge of its electrochemical properties at the solid/liquid interface is still scarce. Here, we present the first two-stranded correlation of the potential of zero free charge (pzfc) of Cu(111) in alkaline electrolyte at different pH values through application of nanosecond laser pulses and the corresponding interfacial structure changes by in situ electrochemical scanning tunneling microscopy imaging. The pzfc of Cu(111) at pH 13 is identified at −0.73 V(SHE) in the apparent double layer region, prior to the onset of hydroxide adsorption. It shifts by (88 ± 4) mV to more positive potentials per decreasing pH unit. At the pzfc, Cu(111) shows structural dynamics at both pH 13 and pH 11, which can be understood as the onset of surface restructuring. At higher potentials, full reconstruction and electric field dependent OH adsorption occurs, which causes a remarkable decrease in the atomic density of the first Cu layer. The expansion of the Cu–Cu distance to 0.3 nm generates a hexagonal Moiré pattern, on which the adsorbed OH forms a commensurate (1 × 2) adlayer structure with a steady state coverage of 0.5 monolayers at pH 13. Our experimental findings shed light on the true charge distribution and its interrelation with the atomic structure of the electrochemical interface of Cu. American Chemical Society 2021-03-01 2021-03-11 /pmc/articles/PMC8016203/ /pubmed/33828636 http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.0c09289 Text en © 2021 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society This is an open access article published under an ACS AuthorChoice License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits copying and redistribution of the article or any adaptations for non-commercial purposes.
spellingShingle Auer, Andrea
Ding, Xing
Bandarenka, Aliaksandr S.
Kunze-Liebhäuser, Julia
The Potential of Zero Charge and the Electrochemical Interface Structure of Cu(111) in Alkaline Solutions
title The Potential of Zero Charge and the Electrochemical Interface Structure of Cu(111) in Alkaline Solutions
title_full The Potential of Zero Charge and the Electrochemical Interface Structure of Cu(111) in Alkaline Solutions
title_fullStr The Potential of Zero Charge and the Electrochemical Interface Structure of Cu(111) in Alkaline Solutions
title_full_unstemmed The Potential of Zero Charge and the Electrochemical Interface Structure of Cu(111) in Alkaline Solutions
title_short The Potential of Zero Charge and the Electrochemical Interface Structure of Cu(111) in Alkaline Solutions
title_sort potential of zero charge and the electrochemical interface structure of cu(111) in alkaline solutions
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8016203/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33828636
http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.0c09289
work_keys_str_mv AT auerandrea thepotentialofzerochargeandtheelectrochemicalinterfacestructureofcu111inalkalinesolutions
AT dingxing thepotentialofzerochargeandtheelectrochemicalinterfacestructureofcu111inalkalinesolutions
AT bandarenkaaliaksandrs thepotentialofzerochargeandtheelectrochemicalinterfacestructureofcu111inalkalinesolutions
AT kunzeliebhauserjulia thepotentialofzerochargeandtheelectrochemicalinterfacestructureofcu111inalkalinesolutions
AT auerandrea potentialofzerochargeandtheelectrochemicalinterfacestructureofcu111inalkalinesolutions
AT dingxing potentialofzerochargeandtheelectrochemicalinterfacestructureofcu111inalkalinesolutions
AT bandarenkaaliaksandrs potentialofzerochargeandtheelectrochemicalinterfacestructureofcu111inalkalinesolutions
AT kunzeliebhauserjulia potentialofzerochargeandtheelectrochemicalinterfacestructureofcu111inalkalinesolutions