A Simple Mechanical Method to Modulate the Electrochemical Electrosorption Processes at Metal Surfaces

Abstract

The coupling of electrochemical processes and surface strain has been widely investigated in the past. The present work briefly introduces a simple method to modulate the electrochemical process at metal surfaces by mechanical bending. In this way, the static strain at the metal layer can reach the order of 1%. The cyclic voltammogram was used to study the electrosorption process of oxygen species at sputtered metal surfaces under different strain states. The experimental results show that the desorption peak potential of oxygen at the Au surface shifted positively by tensile strain, whereas the desorption peak potential at the Pt surface shifted negatively. This phenomenon indicates that tensile strain has an opposite effect on the electrosorption process for Au and Pt surfaces. Our results agree with the previous reports on the potential variation induced by dynamic strain. This work thus offers a simple method to modulate the electrosorption process at metal surfaces and then to enhance the reactivity of metal electrodes.

Atomic understanding of the strain-induced electrocatalysis from DFT calculation: progress and perspective

“…Strain can effectively modulate the electronic states of surface atoms, which in turn affects the speed of electrocatalytic reactions. 42,43 Lattice strain structures 44 and defect-induced structures are the main types of strain-engineering applications for metallic materials. Core-shell structural materials and solid-solution alloys 45 are typically grouped together, as shown in Fig.…”

Electrocatalyst design for the conversion of energy molecules: electronic state modulation and mass transport regulation

“…86–88 Moreover, unlike the more uniform stress distribution in the alloy, the defects exhibit a relatively short-range stress distribution, which facilitates coordination-like fine-tuning of the electronic structure around the active site. 89…”

“…[86][87][88] Moreover, unlike the more uniform stress distribution in the alloy, the defects exhibit a relatively short-range stress distribution, which facilitates coordination-like fine-tuning of the electronic structure around the active site. 89 Twinning can also generate local strain, which in turn affects the electrocatalytic performances of metal-based materials. 90,91 Multiple twinned Pt 3 Cu icosahedral nanocrystals were prepared in a solution system with structure orientation using a wet chemical method (Fig.…”

Hydrogen permeability of nickel capillaries: mathematical modeling and experimental verification

“…The second way to increase the hydrogen permeability of nickel-based membranes is manufacturing membranes with a hierarchical structure that combines porous and gas-tight layers [11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. The high surface area of the porous layer contributes to the high catalytic activity of the membrane, and the thin gas-tight layer ensures high selectivity of the membrane and high hydrogen permeability.…”

“…The small thickness of the dense wall of the membrane gives an ultrahigh flow value in contrast to conventional flat membranes. Nickel tubular hollow fiber membranes were studied in [11][12][13]. In [11], nickel microtubular membranes with a gas-tight layer thickness of 0.09 mm were studied.…”