title: Effect of dissolved LiCl on the ionic liquid-Au(111) interface: an in situ STM study.
abstract: The structure of the electrolyte/electrode interface plays a significant role in electrochemical processes. To date, most studies are focusing on understanding the interfacial structure in pure ionic liquids. In this paper in situ scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) has been employed to elucidate the structure of the charged Au(111)-ionic liquid (1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium tris(pentafluoroethyl)trifluorophosphate, [Py1,4]FAP) interface in the presence of 0.1 M LiCl. The addition of the Li salt to the ionic liquid has a strong influence on the interfacial structure. In the first STM scan in situ measurements reveal that Au(111) undergoes the (22 x √3) 'herringbone' reconstruction in a certain potential regime, and there is strong evidence that the gold surface dissolves at negative electrode potentials in [Py1,4]FAP containing LiCl. Bulk deposition of Li is obtained at -2.9 V in the second STM scan.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Electrochemistry, Clausthal University of Technology, Arnold-Sommerfeld-Straße 6, D-38678 Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Germany.
authors.forename: Natalia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Borisenko
authors.forename: Rob
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Atkin
authors.forename: Abhishek
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lahiri
authors.forename: Sherif Zein
authors.initials: SZ
authors.lastname: El Abedin
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Endres
mesh_terms: D004553:Electric Conductivity; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry*; D052578:Ionic Liquids / Q000737:chemistry*; D018021:Lithium Chloride / Q000737:chemistry*; D008422:Materials Testing; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D016252:Microscopy, Scanning Tunneling / Q000379:methods*; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D052578:Ionic Liquids; D006046:Gold; D018021:Lithium Chloride