Electrocatalysis by ad-atoms: Part VIII. Ag, Pb, Te and Tl ad-atoms for ethylene reduction

Abstract

As already reported, ethylene reduction at a Pt electrode can be enhanced by ad-atoms of Cu and Hg. Another series of ad-atom species is reported, that is, Ag, Pb, Tl and Te, in which the enhancement order depends on the number of Pt sites occupied by an ad-atom. S M. This effect originates from the difference between S M and the number of Pt sites occupied by an ethylene molecule, which causes an increase in the number of Pt sites available for hydrogen adsorption. This increase results in the enhancement, in the order Ag>PbTl; Te which has the same S as ethylene has no enhancement effect. For the complete understanding of the function of the mixed surface in the electrocatalysis, a new concept, “catalytic domains”, parts of the mixed surface effective for the electrocatalysis, is introduced, on the assumption that the reaction rate is much higher than the rate of surface migration of the adsorbed species. Then the number of Pt sites which belong to the catalytic domain is calculated. Another concept, “reaction unit mesh”, is also introduced.