Initial stages of copper electrocrystallization on polycrystalline platinum and glassy carbon in the presence of acetonitrile

The kinetics of formation of copper adlayer, three-dimensional nucleation, and the deposit growth on polycrystalline platinum and glassy carbon in the 0.5 M H₂SO₄ + 10 mM CuSO₄ + (0–2) M acetonitrile (AcN) solutions at the cathodic overvoltages is studied using the methods of cyclic voltammetry and potentiostatic current transients on a ring-disc electrode. At [AcN] = 2 M, the process of formation of copper adatoms on platinum is significantly retarded. In the solutions with high contents of AcN, the processes of Cu⁺ ion production, the formation of their complexes with acetonitrile, hydrogen evolution, copper nucleation, and the deposit growth proceed in parallel. The contribution of any process to the overall current depends on the amount of adsorbed AcN at the surface of substrate and copper deposit and on the electrode potential. At [AcN] = 2 M, an increase in the cathodic overvoltage to 0.32 V leads to an abnormal increase in the current of Cu⁺ ion production on platinum, which is caused by insufficiently rapid formation of copper atoms in the reduction of Cu⁺(AcN) _x complexes.     

Peculiarities of copper underpotential deposition and nucleation on polycrystalline platinum in the presence of acetonitrile: Rotating ring-disk electrode

The initial stages of copper electrocrystallization on polycrystalline platinum in 0.5 M H₂SO₄ + 10 mM CuSO₄ + 0–200 mM acetonitrile (AcN) solutions are studied by the methods of cyclic voltammetry and potentiostatic current transients on a ring-disk electrode. Adsorbed AcN molecules accelerate both the underpotential deposition and the bulk deposition of copper due to the local electrostatic effects on the charged interface. With the increase in the additive concentration in solution, the contribution of the production of copper ions Cu⁺ is observed to increase due to the formation of Cu(AcN) _x ⁺ comlexes, particularly, for [AcN] ≥ 4 mM when the concentrations of acetonitrile and copper sulfate become comparable. In the presence of AcN, as well as in the copper sulfate supporting electrolyte, the adatomic layer is formed via the mechanism of the two-dimensional growth of Cu(1 × 1) phase islets.     

Kinetics of copper UPD on stepped platinum single crystals in the presence of acetonitrile

The kinetics of copper underpotential deposition on stepped Pt(h k l) electrodes with controlled width of (1 1 1) terraces in acidic solutions of copper sulfate with 0–200 mM of acetonitrile (AcN) has been studied by means of cyclic voltammetry. In the presence of AcN Cu UPD process is hindered both at (1 0 0) steps and (1 1 1) terraces of Pt(17 15 15) and Pt(7 5 5) faces due to blocking of the electrode surface with organic molecules, strongly adsorbed at the steps and nearby ones. The decoration of (1 1 0) steps with copper adatoms is slightly accelerated for Pt(7 7 5) electrode in the solution with 0.04 mM AcN. Increase in AcN concentration leads to inhibition of the UPD process. The difference in behavior of the stepped platinum electrodes is controlled by competitive adsorption of AcN, (bi)sulfate and Cu atoms at the step sites. AcN adsorption at (1 0 0) steps is stronger as compared with (1 1 0) ones.     

Electrodeposition of copper on a Pt(111) electrode in sulfuric acid containing poly(ethylene glycol) and chloride ions as probed by in situ STM

This study employed real-time in situ STM imaging to examine the adsorption of PEG molecules on Pt(111) modified by a monolayer of copper adatoms and the subsequent bulk Cu deposition in 1 M H(2)SO(4) + 1 mM CuSO(4)+ 1 mM KCl + 88 μM PEG. At the end of Cu underpotential deposition (~0.35 V vs Ag/AgCl), a highly ordered Pt(111)-(√3 × √7)-Cu + HSO(4)(-) structure was observed in 1 M H(2)SO(4) + 1 mM CuSO(4). This adlattice restructured upon the introduction of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG, molecular weight 200) and chloride anions. At the onset potential for bulk Cu deposition (~0 V), a Pt(111)-(√3 × √3)R30°-Cu + Cl(-) structure was imaged with a tunneling current of 0.5 nA and a bias voltage of 100 mV. Lowering the tunneling current to 0.2 nA yielded a (4 × 4) structure, presumably because of adsorbed PEG200 molecules. The subsequent nucleation and deposition processes of Cu in solution containing PEG and Cl(-) were examined, revealing the nucleation of 2- to 3-nm-wide CuCl clusters on an atomically smooth Pt(111) surface at overpotentials of less than 50 mV. With larger overpotential (η > 150 mV), Cu deposition seemed to bypass the production of CuCl species, leading to layered Cu deposition, starting preferentially at step defects, followed by lateral growth to cover the entire Pt electrode surface. These processes were observed with both PEG200 and 4000, although the former tended to produce more CuCl nanoclusters. Raising [H(2)SO(4)] to 1 M substantiates the suppressing effect of PEG on Cu deposition. This STM study provided atomic- or molecular-level insight into the effect of PEG additives on the deposition of Cu.     

Surface and Subsurface Oxygen on Platinum in a Copper Perchlorate Solution

The formation of an adatom layer on polycrystalline platinum and the three-dimensional nucleation of copper in a copper perchlorate solution are studied by cyclic voltammetry at 0.1 V s^–1 while varying potential ranges and by recording potentiostatic current transients. About 0.6 monolayers of copper adatoms are deposited when cycling with anodic limit E _a = 1.35 V, the process is slower than that in an acid sulfate solution. Decreasing E _a accelerates the process (nearly one monolayer forms for E _a = 0.80–0.95 V in a cathodic scan) due to an increased number of active centers (metastable copper oxides) and, probably, to a change in the platinum surface microstructure. Oxygen for copper oxides is presumably supplied by water molecules adsorbed on a monolayer of copper adsorbed atoms and by subsurface oxygen (O_ss), which appears on the platinum surface after the destruction of complexes O_ss–Pt _n –ClO₄. Both the copper nucleation and the deposit growth accelerate at higher concentrations of copper oxides, which form at low E _a. High cathodic overvoltages decrease the number of active crystallization centers due to reduction or removal of copper oxides.     

In situ STM imaging of bis-3-sodiumsulfopropyl-disulfide molecules adsorbed on copper film electrodeposited on Pt(111) single crystal electrode

The adsorption of bis-3-sodiumsulfopropyldi-sulfide (SPS) on metal electrodes in chloride-containing media has been intensively studied to unveil its accelerating effect on Cu electrodeposition. Molecular resolution scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) imaging technique was used in this study to explore the adsorption and decomposition of SPS molecules concurring with the electrodeposition of copper on an ordered Pt(111) electrode in 0.1 M HClO(4) + 1 mM Cu(ClO(4))(2) + 1 mM KCl. Depending on the potential of Pt(111), SPS molecules could react, adsorb, and decompose at chloride-capped Cu films. A submonolayer of Cu adatoms classified as the underpotential deposition (UPD) layer at 0.4 V (vs Ag/AgCl) was completely displaced by SPS molecules, possibly occurring via RSSR (SPS) + Cl-Cu-Pt → RS(-)-Pt(+) + RS(-) (MPS) + Cu(2+) + Cl(-), where MPS is 3-mercaptopropanesulfonate. By contrast, at 0.2 V, where a full monolayer of Cu was presumed to be deposited, SPS molecules were adsorbed in local (4 × 4) structures at the lower ends of step ledges. Bulk Cu deposition driven by a small overpotential (η < 50 mV) proceeded slowly to yield an atomically smooth Cu deposit at the very beginning (<5 layers). On a bilayer Cu deposit, the chloride adlayer was still adsorbed to afford SPS admolecules arranged in a unique 1D striped phase. SPS molecules could decompose into MPS upon further Cu deposition, as a (2 × 2)-MPS structure was observed with prolonged in situ STM imaging. It was possible to visualize either SPS admolecules in the upper plane or chloride adlayer sitting underneath upon switching the imaging conditions. Overall, this study established a MPS molecular film adsorbed to the chloride adlayer sitting atop the Cu deposit.     

Methodical aspects of studying the electroreduction of nitrate on modified single crystal Pt(hkl) + Cu electrodes

Technique of modification of basal faces Pt(hkl) by adatoms and epitaxial copper deposits is developed. Analysis of potentiostatic current transients of copper deposition/dissolution and atomic force microscopy showed that the activity of Pt(hkl) faces regarding the processes of copper nucleation and epitaxial growth increases in the sequence of Pt(111) < Pt(110) < Pt(100). The reaction of nitrate anion reduction is sensitive towards the surface structure, not only in the case of platinum, but also in the case of copper deposits (including a monolayer of adatoms). The highest process rate is observed for the Pt(100) electrode modified by a monolayer of adatoms or islands of bulk copper; nitrate reduction at the lowest rate occurs at Pt(111) + Cu electrodes. Structure-sensitive competitive adsorption of background electrolyte and nitrate anions is the factor that largely determines the kinetics of nitrate reduction on different faces of platinum single crystal and copper deposits.     

Origin of active copper electrocrystallization centers on platinum

The activation of a platinum electrode in an acid sulfate solution is studied on rotating and stationary disk electrodes by means of cyclic voltammetry. Rates of the adatom layer formation and the phase copper deposition significantly increase following use of a slow potential scan and/or agitation of electrolyte as a result of the interaction between adatoms or ions of copper with adsorbed or dissolved oxygen. Oxide compounds of copper are active centers of a two-dimensional growth of an adatom layer and a three-dimensional nucleation in the course of electrocrystallization.     

高序石墨电极上单分散纳米铜粒子的电结

Mechanism of copper electrocrystallization on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite electrode from a solution of 1 mmol/L CuSO4 and 1.0 mol/L H2SO4 has been studied using cyclic voltammogram and chronoamperometry. The results show that in copper electrodeposition the charge-transfer step is fast and the rate of growth is controlled by the rate of mass transfer of copper ions to the growing centers. Reduction of Cu(Ⅱ) ions did not undergo underpotential deposition. The initial deposition kinetics of Cu electrocrystallization corresponds to a model including progressive nucleation and diffusion controlled growth. Copper nanocrystals with size of 75.6 nm and relative standard deviation of 9% can be obtained by modulation potential electrodeposition.     

碲在金衬底上的不可逆吸附行为及其欠电位沉积机制的研究

研究了碲在金衬底上的不可逆吸附行为特征及其对碲原子欠电位沉积行为的影响. 同时也探讨了碲原子于金衬底上的欠电位沉积机制. 结果显示在开路条件下碲原子在金衬底表面具有不可逆的吸附行为, 证实了在金的双电层范围内很难将这种碲的吸附物移走. 为了完全移走碲的吸附物, 需要采用特定的电化学清洗程序. 发现碲的吸附物移走发生在电位循环至金的氧化区域, 且在该区域这种碲的吸附物移走与金的表面氧化同时发生. 扫描速率分析结果证实碲欠电位沉积在金表面符合Sanchez-Maestre模型的三个标准, 说明碲原子于金衬底上欠电位沉积符合二维形核和生长机制.     

Effect of adsorption of anions on the kinetics of the copper adatom layer formation at polycrystalline platinum

The formation of copper adatom layers at polycrystalline platinum in sulfate and perchlorate solutions is studied by cyclic voltammetry on a ring-disk electrode. Specific adsorption of anions accelerates the copper underpotential deposition by decreasing the positive potential of the dense part of EDL. Of importance is the anion composition of co-adsorption lattices that form at moderate coverages of platinum by copper. Supermonolayer coatings form under the conditions of strong specific adsorption of anions. In a weakly acid sodium sulfate solution, the surface coverage by copper adatoms reaches 1.7 monolayers.     

Selenium electrochemistry in choline chloride–urea deep eutectic electrolyte

The electrochemical behaviour of selenium in the deep eutectic solvent made of a 1:2 molar ratio of choline chloride and urea (ChCl–U) has been investigated at a polycrystalline gold electrode by voltammetry and chronoamperometry. In order to favour the deposition of grey selenium, selenium oxide was chosen as the solution precursor and a temperature range from 70 to 110 °C was selected. Cyclic voltammograms recorded in the 1:2 choline chloride–urea liquid containing 10 mM SeO₂ are strongly affected by the temperature. At 110 °C, three main cathodic responses are evidenced around ?0.075, ?0.2 and ?0.7 V. These cathodic peaks have been attributed respectively to the underpotential deposition (upd) of Se, the bulk deposition of Se and the cathodic stripping of selenium associated to the formation of Se(?II). Potentiostatic current transients obtained at 110 °C are indicative of a nucleation with diffusion-controlled growth mechanism for the selenium electrodeposition and support the formation of a upd layer preceding the bulk deposition. The dissolution transients triggered by double potential step perturbations could however not be interpreted on the basis of a similar formalism.     

Adsorption of Thiourea and Formation of Nickel-thiourea Complexes at Initial Stage of Nickel Deposition

The effect of thiourea (TU) on the nickel deposition process was analyzed by means of linear-sweep voltammetry. Raman spectroscopy and infrared reflectance spectroscopy were used to investigate the adsorption of TU and the formation of nickel-TU complexes on copper surface. The experimental results indicate that the nucleation and the preceding conversion step are involved in the deposition of nickel on copper electrodes. TU makes the onset nucleation potential negative due to the formation of nickel-TU complexes. which can accelerate the nickel deposition. Moreover, the S atom in the TU molecule adsorbed on copper surface facilitates the coordination of TU to Ni^2 . Meanwhile, TU might be adsorbed at a flatter orientation if no Ni^2 is on the surface, while at a perpendicular orientation when Ni^2 is coadsorbed.     

Hydration processes of electrolyte anions and cations on pt(111), Ir(111), Ru(001) and Au(111) surfaces: coadsorption of water molecules with electrolyte ions

Water adsorption on Pt( 111) and Ru(001) treated with oxygen, hydrogen chloride and sodium atom at 20 K has been studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy and surface X-ray diffraction. Water molecules chemisorb predominantly on the sites of the electronegative additives, forming hydrogen bonds. Three types of hydration water molecules coordinate to an adsorbed Na atom through an oxygen lone pair. In contrast, water molecules adsorb on electrode surfaces in a simple way in solution. In 1 mM CuSO4 + 0.5 M H2SO4 solution on an Au(111) electrode surface, water molecules coadsorb not only with sulfuric acid anions through hydrogen bonding but also with copper, over wide potential ranges. In the first stage of underpotential deposition (UPD), each anion is accommodated by six copper hexagon (honeycomb) atoms on which water molecules dominate. At any UPD stage water molecules interact with both the copper atom and sulfuric acid anions on the Au(111) surface. Water molecules also coadsorb with CO molecules on the surface of 2 x 2-2CO-Ru(001). All of the hydration water molecules chemisorb weakly on the surfaces. There appears to be a correlation between the orientation of hydrogen bonding water molecules and the electrode potential.     

烟酸对酸性硫酸盐体系铜电沉积的影响

对溶液A: 0.8 mol•L－1硫酸铜,0.6 mol•L－1硫酸,5.0×10－5 mol•L－1氯离子,1.0×10－4 mol•L－1聚乙二醇的溶液,溶液B:在溶液A中加入2.0×10－2 mol•L－1烟酸,pH为0.5,运用循环伏安和计时安培法研究玻碳电极上铜的电沉积行为.结果表明,铜的电沉积过程经历了晶核形成过程,其电结晶按瞬时成核和三维生长方式进行.烟酸的加入对铜的电沉积具有阻化作用,但不改变铜的电结晶机理.沉积层的X射线衍射表明Cu为面心立方结构,在烟酸存在下沉积层出现(220)高择优取向,这可能是烟酸在Cu(220)晶面上发生强烈吸附作用的结果.     

Enhancement of the electrochemical reduction of oxygen at platinum by nickel underpotential deposition

Polycrystalline Pt electrode was modified by underpotential deposition (upd) of nickel. The modification was performed by potential cycling in phosphate buffer pH 7. 0 containing NiSO₄, in which hydrogen and nickel upd processes were well separated. The maximum Ni upd coverage was found to be 0.3. Oxygen reduction was studied at bare and nickel upd-modified Pt. It was found that the reaction rate increased with increasing Ni upd coverage. At θ(Ni)=0.3, the current density was a factor of 2 higher compared to bare Pt (at the potential of 0.85 V). The capacitance of the electrode interface was determined in potential-relaxation experiments following interruption of the polarization current. It was found that the pseudocapacitance owing to a coverage by the adsorbed reaction intermediates was higher on the Ni-modified Pt surface than on bare Pt, which resulted in higher reaction rate. The influence of Ni adatoms on the surface coverage by the reaction intermediates was attributed to the inhibition of OH adsorption on Pt by OH ligands attached on neighboring Ni atoms.     

Electrodeposition of Copper Selenide onto Mo Electrode in Tartaric Acid Solution

Results are presented of a study of the electrochemical behavior of copper(II) and selenium(IV) ions and their joint reduction on a molybdenum electrode by cyclic voltammetry in a tartaric acid electrolyte. The potentiostatic deposition was used to obtain copper selenide deposits on Mo plates. The diffraction and energydispersive analyses demonstrated that a Cu_2?xSe compound is formed with an admixture of the CuSe phase. A suggestion is made that the process of underpotential reduction affects the formation of copper selenide. Copper selenide films were deposited at a potential of ?0.6 V in the course of 30 min with a thickness of 0.43 μm and high adhesion to the substrate. At potentials in this range, an additional amount of the deposit may be formed due to the chemical reaction between Cu⁺ and Se^2? ions. The p-type conduction was determined for films electrodeposited at various potentials.     

Electrochemical Processes at a Platinum Electrode in CuSO4 Solutions in the UPD Region and at Initial Electrocrystallization Stages: Effect of Polyethylene Glycol

Effect of polyethylene glycol (PEG; m.w. 3000) on the Cu_ad deposition at smooth platinum in 0.5 M H₂SO₄ + 0.1 M CuSO₄ solutions and on the initial copper electrocrystallization stages is studied. According to cyclic voltammetry, PEG barely affects the Cu_ad formation kinetics. Adding PEG hampers dissolution of deposited copper. As follows from chronoamperograms, PEG makes no impact on the nucleation character (progressing nucleation) but hampers the copper nucleation process.     

Investigation of the anodic decomposition of the solid electrolyte RbCu4Cl3I2

The process of electrochemical decomposition of the solid electrolyte RbCu₄Cl₃I₂ at a vitreous carbon electrode has been investigated. The anodic decomposition of the electrolyte occurs in two steps. At first, the oxidizing electrode reaction of Cu⁺ ions to Cu²⁺ ions takes place at potentials higher than 0.57 V and a layer of decomposition products is formed on the electrode surface, including the divalent copper compound RbCuCl₃. Then the oxidizing reaction of I^– ions occurs at potentials higher than approximately 0.67 V, with deposition of an iodine layer onto the electrode surface. The deposition rate of the layers of decomposition products is controlled by instantaneous nucleation and two-dimensional growth of the deposit. The total thickness of the passivating layer of decomposition products on the anode is equal to ca. 1 μm. Electronic Publication     

Optical and electrochemical studies of the underpotential deposition of metals Part I. Thallium deposition on single crystal silver electrodes

The underpotential deposition of thallium on single crystal silver cathodes, orientations 100, 110 and 111, was investigated optically and voltammetrically. Careful chemical polishing of the silver surfaces was necessary to reveal the fine structure on the voltammograms reproducibly. The deposition process for the first monolayer was shown to be the formation of a layer of adsorbed atoms initially, followed by a phase transformation to form a crystal plane by two-dimensional nucleation and growth. The extent of the initial adsorption was related to the number of favourable sites on each crystal face such that the adsorbed layer formed a superlattice. The influence of the substrate structure was seen on the formation of the second thallium monolayer. The formation of this layer also involved adsorption followed by transformation into a crystal plane.