Lecture
Van Marum Colloquium: Exploiting Single Nanoparticle and Spectro-Electrochemistry to Explore Solvent and Anion Adsorption at Metals
- Date
- Thursday 5 December 2024
- Time
- Location
-
Gorlaeus Building
Einsteinweg 55
2333 CC Leiden - Room
- CM.3.23
Abstract
The advancement and enhancement of sustainability-focused systems, such as electrosynthesis, renewable energy conversion and storage devices, requires a molecular level comprehension of solid/liquid interfaces. At the interface of a charged metal with an electrolyte, electrons, solvent molecules, and ions form an electric double layer (EDL).
Advancing the limited understanding of the EDL we have to date, is one of the key aspects in improving charge transfer reactions. This demands for advanced electrochemical approaches, such as single entity electrochemistry and spectro-electrochemistry.
Nanoimpact electrochemistry is a high-throughput single entity technique that enables studying EDL properties at individual nanoparticles.[1] In this method, nanoparticles dispersed in the electrolyte solution of interest make electrical connection with a potentiostated electrode upon collision.[2] Consequently, the nanoparticle's potential equilibrates with that of the electrode, and a transient current signal results. This allows us to determine the EDL capacitance of the nanoparticle avoiding thle various ambiguities caused by typically used nanoparticle ensemble measurements. Here, we investigate how different ions affect the EDL capacitance of platinum and gold nanoparticles, shedding new light on the molecular structure of the EDL at these metals.
Advancing from this, the role of anion adsortipn on electrosynthesis, that is electrochemical reactions, will be discussed. To this end classical competitive adsorbption stuidies at rotating disc electrodes are complemented by differential electrochemical mass spectrometry (DEMS) and surface enhanced IR spectroscopy (SEIRAS) . This reveals the impact of redox-inactive anions and moelculare backbones on the selective electrocatalytic oxidation of aldehydes on gold surfaces, a class of reactions that will be crucial for the production of former “petro” chemicals from a renewable feedstock [3].
References
- M. Azimzadeh Sani, N. G. Pavlopoulos, S. Pezzotti, A. Serva, P. Cignoni, J. Linnemann, M. Salanne, M.-P. Gaigeot, K. Tschulik, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2022, 61, e202112679.
- M. Azimzadeh Sani, K. Tschulik, Curr. Opin. in Electrochem., 2022, 37, 101195.
- L. Sobota, C. J. Bondue, P. Hosseini, C. Kaiser, M. Spallek, K. Tschulik, ChemElectroChem, 2024, 11, 202300151.