title: Voltammetry of basal plane platinum electrodes in acetonitrile electrolytes: effect of the presence of water.
abstract: The first part of this report studies the electrochemical properties of single-crystal platinum electrodes in acetonitrile electrolytes by means of cyclic voltammetry. Potential difference infrared spectroscopy in conjunction with linear voltammetry was used to obtain a molecular-level picture of this interface. The second part of this report studies the hydrogen evolution and the hydrogen oxidation reactions on the three low-index faces of Pt electrodes in acetonitrile electrolytes. The data (CVs and IR spectra) strongly suggest that acetonitrile and CN(-) molecules are adsorbed on single-crystal platinum electrodes in the range of -1.5 to 0.3 V versus Ag/AgCl. Those species block part of the adsorption sites for hydrogen adatoms, and they decompose on the surface in the presence of water. The nature of the cation and the presence of water strongly affect the onset of acetonitrile electrolysis and the kinetics and stability of the adsorbed species on the electrode. Finally, the hydrogen evolution and the hydrogen oxidation reactions on platinum single-crystal surfaces in acetonitrile electrolytes are strongly affected by the surface-energy state of Pt electrodes.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Química, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia. mfsuarezh@unal.edu.co
authors.forename: Marco F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Suárez-Herrera
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Costa-Figueiredo
authors.forename: Juan M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Feliu