The mechanism and kinetics of electrocatalytic oxidation of formic acid at Pt electrodes is discussed in detail based on previous electrochemical in-situ ATR-FTIRS data [Langmuir 22, 10399 （2006）and Angewa. Chem. Int. Ed. 50, 1159 （2011）]. A kinetic model with formic acid adsorption （and probably the simultaneous C-H bond activation） as the rate determining step, which contributes to the majority of reaction current for formic acid oxi- dation, was proposed for the direct pathway. The model simulates well the IR spectroscopic results obtained under conditions where the poisoning effect of carbon monoxide （CO） is negligible and formic acid concentration is below 0.1 mol/L. The kinetic simulation predicts that in the direct pathway formic acid oxidation probably only needs one Pt atom as active site, formate is the site blocking species instead of being the active intermediate. We review in detail the conclusion that formate pathway （with either 1st or 2nd order reaction kinetics） is the direct pathway, possible origins for the discrepancies are pointed out.
Hydrogen evolution reaction(HER)is the major cathodic reaction which competes CO2 reduction reaction(CO2 RR)on Pt electrode.Molecular level understanding on how these two reactions interact with each other and what the key factors are of CO2 RR kinetics and selectivity will be of great help in optimizing electrolysers for CO2 reduction.In this work,we report our results of hydrogen evolution and CO2 reduction on Pt(111)and Pt film electrodes in CO2 saturated acid solution by cyclic voltammetry and infrared spectroscopy.In solution with pH>2,the major process is HER and the interfacial pH increases abruptly during HER;COad is the only adsorbed intermediate detected in CO2 reduction by infrared spectroscopy;the rate for COad formation increases with the coverage of UPD-H and reaches maximum at the onset potential for HER;the decrease of COad formation under HER is attributed to the available limited sites and the limited residence time for the reduction intermediate(Had),which is necessary for CO2 adsorption and reduction.
A novel method has been designed and exploited to determine the thermal junction potential difference(TJPD) between two acids or alkalies of the same composition but with different temperature. The absolute value of measured TJPD between two strong acids(or alkalies) maintained at different temperatures increases with increasing of the temperature difference between the two electrolytes over the range from 0 to 40 °C. In strong acids, the hot end always has the lower potential while in strong alkalies, the cold end has the lower potential. This is because the ions of fast diffusion rate contribute most to the TJPD. Our results demonstrate the importance of the correction for TJPD in deriving the kinetic parameters when studying the temperature effect on reaction kinetics.
The hydrogen peroxide oxidation reaction (HPOOR) on Au(111) electrode in alkaline solutions with pH values ranging from 10 to 13 was examined systematically. HPOOR activity increased and the slope of the i-E curve decreased with increasing pH. HO2- is suggested to be the main reactive intermediate for HPOOR in alkaline media. The fast kinetics for HPOOR in alkaline solution is facilitated by the electrostatic interaction between the positively charged electrode and the reactive anions (i.e., HO2- and HO-), which increases the concentration of these reactants and the thermodynamic driving force for HO2- oxidation at the reaction plane.
