The dissociation and electrooxidation of ethanol and acetaldehyde was studied in perchloric acid on platinum electrodes by employing Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS). It is found that the scission of the carbon−carbon bond occurs readily at low potentials, leading to adsorbed C1 species. Besides adsorbed CO, chemisorbed CH has been observed for the first time as an adsorbed intermediate in the electrochemical oxidation of ethanol and acetaldehyde. In addition, it is found that the breaking of the C−C bond is easier in acetaldehyde than in ethanol. On the basis of the results obtained here, a reaction mechanism for the dissociation and oxidation of ethanol and acetaldehyde is suggested.

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