Low-Temperature Electrochemistry at High-T c Superconductor/Ionic Conductor Interfaces

Sub-Tc Electron Transfer at the Hg-HTSC/Liquid-Electrolyte Interface

“…Less certain is whether this type of monolayer interface could accommodate the transfer of paired electrons. This is then a significant step in understanding the origin of any effects of superconductivity on related interfaces, suggesting that the rate enhancement noted by Lorentz et al may indeed be connected with the transfer of paired electrons. Attention must now focus on the creation of HTSC/liquid-electrolyte interfaces incorporating a variety of two-electron acceptors, to probe for the transfer of paired electrons.…”

“…Previously, reactions studied at superconducting HTSC electrodes have been of redox-active species in solid electrolytes, − frozen glasses, and liquid electrolytes, the last category including freely diffusing species, , the electrolyte itself, and species tethered to the HTSC via an alkanethiol linker attached to a gold or silver underlayer …”

“…Lorentz et al reported increases in the electron-transfer rate, localized around T c , at HTSC/solid-electrolyte interfaces with Ag/Ag + as the redox couple. Their interpretation of this as the participation of electron pairs in the electron-transfer event is, however, by no means certain.…”

EIS - The Early Days

“…Electrode kinetics has been studied by EIS for a large variety of electrochemical systems. Some of those that will be discussed include: dissolution and passivation mechanisms of transition metals (4), electrochemical phase formation and dissolution processes (5), corrosion rates in different corroding systems, and effects of interface and interphase corrosion inhibitors (6), porous coatings and inhomogeneous surfaces (7), partially blocked electrodes (8), quantum effects in the electron charge transfer at high-T c -superconductor/solid ionic conductors interfaces at low temperatures (9), conduction mechanism of superionic conductors at low temperature, and frequency dispersion (10).…”