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O: Fachverband Oberflächenphysik

O 65: Poster Session V: Solid-liquid interfaces: Reactions and electrochemistry II

O 65.4: Poster

Wednesday, March 3, 2021, 10:30–12:30, P

Anodic Polarization of Electrodes at High Potentials in Alkaline Electrolytes — •Evelyn Artmann, Lukas Forschner, Vincent Pramod Menezes, Mohamed Elnagar, Ludwig Kibler, Timo Jacob, and Albert K. Engstfeld — Institute of Electrochemistry, University of Ulm, Germany

Polarization of electrodes in aqueous electrolytes at anodic potentials in the range of a few to several hundred volts has a significant impact on the structural properties of the electrodes as well as on the products formed in the solution [1-2]. This opens up interesting opportunities for applications, e.g. electrocatalyst design.

In this work we report on the I-U characteristics and the structural properties of Pt, Au and Cu wire electrodes during anodic polarization between the stability region of water and anodic Contact Glow Discharge Electrolysis (aCGDE) in alkaline electrolyte. The structural changes of the electrodes were characterized by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electrochemical measurements. The latter suggest potential dependent oxide formation on Au and Cu. The nature of the formed oxides is discussed based on X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements.

An important finding is that the structural properties of the electrodes also depend on how quickly the electrodes were removed from the electrolysis solution. We will discuss in how far the electrolysis products affect the structure formation after the anodic treatment.

[1] G. Saito, T. Akiyama, J. Nanomater., 10 (2015) 1.

[2] A. Allagui et. al., Electrochim. Acta, 93 (2013) 137.