Kinetics of dissociative adsorption of ethylene glycol on Pt(s) − [ n(100) × (111)] electrodes in acid solutions

Abstract

The dissociative adsorption of ethylene glycol (EG) on stepped surfaces of Pt single crystal (Pt(s) − [ n(100) × (111)]) was investigated. Different surface structures of these platinum single crystal electrodes were obtained by various treatment conditions. The results illustrated that the electrocatalytic activity of Pt single crystal electrodes towards EG dissociative adsorption is increased with the increase of (100) terrace length on the surfaces. It has been found that the different pretreatment hardly influences the reactivity of stepped Pt(s) − [ n(100) × (111)] surfaces towards EG dissociative adsorption. The results indicated that all studied surfaces are more active in perchloric acid than in sulfuric acid, and this effect is decreased with the increase of (100) terrace length on the surfaces, demonstrating the strong adsorption of (bi)sulfate anions on (111) sites and their weak adsorption on (100) sites. This study has gained knowledge on the interaction between EG and Pt single crystal electrodes, and thrown a new insight into understanding the fundamental of electrocatalysis and surface processes of EG dissociative adsorption.