An in-situ X-ray diffraction study on the electrochemical formation of PtZn alloys on Pt(111) single crystal electrode

•PtZn electrochemical alloying is observed on single crystal Pt electrodes.•In-situ X-ray characterization during alloy formation and dissolution is provided.•Structural model of the surface during alloying and dissolution is discussed.•X-ray based techniques can be used in in-operando studies of bi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied surface science 2015-11, Vol.354, p.443-449
Main Authors: Drnec, J., Bizzotto, D., Carlà, F., Fiala, R., Sode, A., Balmes, O., Detlefs, B., Dufrane, T., Felici, R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alloy
Alloys
Diffraction
Diffusion
Dissolution
Electrochemistry
Electrodes
Formations
X-rays
XRD
XRR
Zinc
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:•PtZn electrochemical alloying is observed on single crystal Pt electrodes.•In-situ X-ray characterization during alloy formation and dissolution is provided.•Structural model of the surface during alloying and dissolution is discussed.•X-ray based techniques can be used in in-operando studies of bimetallic fuel cell catalysts. The electrochemical formation and dissolution of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) PtZn catalyst on Pt(111) surface is followed by in-situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray reflectivity (XRR) measurements. When the crystalline Pt surface is polarized to sufficiently negative potential values, with respect to an Ag/AgCl|KCl reference electrode, the electrodeposited zinc atoms diffuse into the bulk and characteristic features are observed in the X-ray patterns. The surface structure and composition during deposition and dissolution is determined from analysis of XRR curves and measurements of crystal truncation rods. Thin Zn-rich surface layer is present during the alloy formation while a Zn-depleted layer forms during dissolution.
ISSN:0169-4332
1873-5584
DOI:10.1016/j.apsusc.2015.04.072