Measurement of the double-layer capacitance of Pt(111) in acidic conditions near the potential of zero charge

Abstract

Quantifying the charge density stored at the Pt(111)/aqueous interface using the double-layer capacitance close to the potential of zero charge (Cdl,PZC) at 0.30 VNHE is of critical importance to elucidating the structure of the electrical double layer (EDL) in the absence of any competing adsorption processes. Marked discrepancies in the values of Cdl for this interface exist in the literature, which we show are likely attributable to the measurement technique used. To directly observe the predicted Gouy-Chapman capacitance minimum at the PZC in the double-layer window between 0.40-0.55 VRHE, anomalously low electrolyte concentrations (0.1 mM HClO4) are needed. The measurement of accurate values of Cdl,PZC is made highly non-trivial by the extremely large solution resistances (∼80-100 kΩ) measured in this required dilute electrolyte as well as the non-negligible deviations from ideal capacitive behaviour (i.e., constant phase element behaviour) displayed even by this well-ordered model electrochemical system. We provide here a comparison between using cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and alternating current-cyclic voltammetry (AC-CV) in determining Cdl,PZC for the Pt(111)/HClO4 interface, for different concentrations of the electrolyte. In particular, even when using optimized experimental parameters, we show that the estimated values of Cdl,PZC at 0.1 mM HClO4 still display a marked discrepancy depending on the technique used, ranging from 27-41 μF cm−2. At higher HClO4 concentrations, the discrepancies are much less pronounced. Importantly, however, the measured deviation from Gouy-Chapman theory, as quantified by the Parsons-Zobel plot slope, remains consistent across these techniques, implying that the EDL structure of the Pt(111)/aqueous interface continues to prove anomalous and enigmatic.