A microgravimetric study of simultaneous adsorption of anions and copper on polycrystalline Pt surfaces

Abstract

The underpotential deposition of Cu was studied in four different acid electrolytes by simultaneous measurements of cyclic voltammetry and microgravimetry using a electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance. The influence of anions on the Cu monolayer was determined. Among the three desorption peaks observed, the first was found to be very sensitive to the nature of the anion present in solution. This was related to the low coverage of the Pt surface by ad-atoms, in the respective potential range, which yields a weak interaction between the Cu ad-atoms. The monolayer is composed of a first layer of Cu adsorbed on Pt and a second layer of anions adsorbed on the Cu ad-atoms, with each anion occupying two adjacent Cu atoms, with the exception of the Cl- anion which was deposited on only one Cu ad-atom. This structure consequently forms a bi-layer deposit. The modification of voltammetric and massogram profiles by adding Cl- to the perchlorate electrolyte was also analyzed.