Literature Seminar:

Surface stability is one driving factor for choosing an electrode. This beneficial property ensures control over the electrochemical processes occurring at the surface. Platinum is a common electrode due to its surface being insensitive to adsorbate interactions. However, it has recently been shown1 that the platinum surface does restructure during oxidation/reduction cycles in the presence of certain adsorbates. The restructuring of the platinum surface when exposed to 1,4-phenelyne diisocyanide was studied2 using sum frequency generation, a surface sensitive nonlinear spectroscopic technique. Scanning tunneling microscopy images were also taken to support the changes in the surface topography. From these experiments it was concluded that prolonged exposure to adsorbates and solvent rinsing causes metal surface reconstruction.

1) Magnussen, Olaf . Phys. Chem. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2017, 139, 4532.

2) Ghalgaoui, Ahmed and Martin Sterrer. J. Phys. Chem. C 2020, 124, 419

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