The Activation of Polycrystalline Gold to the Hydrogen Electrode Reaction Promoted with Repetitive Potentiodynamic Perturbations

Abstract

The activation of gold electrodes toward the hydrogen electrode reaction is studied using the polycrystalline normalgold/1MH2SO4 interface at 25°C. The electrode activation is promoted by potentiodynamic aging in the potential range where the O‐electrosorption/O‐electrodesorption takes place. The activation effect is comparable to that earlier described when gold electrodes are cathodized for a relatively long time in the potential range of the net evolution of hydrogen. The activation effect is revealed through the appearance of a remarkable increase of current associated with the hydrogen ion discharge and an anodic current related to the electrooxidation of hydrogen. For the latter, different contributions are distinguished, namely, the molecular H2 diffusion and those related to adsorbed and probably absorbed hydrogen. The electrochemical characteristics of the normalgold/1MH2SO4 interface are related to a large extent to the restructuring of the metal surface.

Enhancement of the Electrocatalytic Activity of Gold Nanoparticles Towards Methanol Oxidation

“…By a recently introduced method using deposition and dissolution of PbO 2 in an alkaline medium, organic layers on the surface of gold nanoparticles can be easily removed without surface reconstruction [13,[27][28][29][30]. Furthermore, an additional advantage is that the surface features of the Au NPs can be accessed by studying the underpotential deposition (UPD) of lead, which is extremely sensitive to the surface structures of electrodes [13,30,41].…”

“…The first one is an electrochemical method. By repeated potential sweeping cycles in acidic or alkaline media with an upper potential higher than the potential for oxide formation [27,28], organic species can be eliminated. The second strategy is a thermal decomposition of organic molecules due to heat treatment [29].…”

Electrochemical Reduction of CO2on Copper Oxidized by Electrochemical Methods

“…Córdova O. et al the activity of gold electrode increases for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) when gold electrode was subjected to the potentiodynamic perturbation (3). Similarly, Vuković M. et al has reported the increase in the activity of ruthenium for evolution of both Cl 2 and O 2 when ruthenium electrode was subjected to the anodic and cathodic potential cycling (4).…”

The electrochemical double layer in ionic liquids

“…Proton reduction on Au has been studied extensively and described in detail. 279,[301][302][303][304][305][306][307] Here, pyridinium reduction is also examined via capacitance measurements for varying pH solutions as shown in Figure 5.4.10b. As the pH is lowered the original pyridine capacitive peak at -0.68 V decreases and shifts towards more positive potentials.…”