Cation Modifies Interfacial Water Structures on Platinum during Alkaline Hydrogen Electrocatalysis

Abstract

The molecular details of an electrocatalytic interface play an essential role in the production of sustainable fuels and value-added chemicals. Many electrochemical reactions exhibit strong cation-dependent activities, but how cations affect reaction kinetics is still elusive. We report the effect of cations (K+, Li+, and Ba2+) on the interfacial water structure using second-harmonic generation (SHG) and classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. The second- (χH2O (2)) and third-order (χH2O (3)) optical susceptibilities of water on Pt are smaller in the presence of Ba2+ compared to those of K+, suggesting that cations can affect the interfacial water orientation. MD simulation reproduces experimental SHG observations and further shows that the competition between cation hydration and interfacial water alignment governs the net water orientation. The impact of cations on interfacial water supports a cation hydration-mediated mechanism for hydrogen electrocatalysis; i.e., the reaction occurs via water dissociation followed by cation-assisted hydroxide/water exchange on Pt. Our study highlights the role of interfacial water in electrocatalysis and how innocent additives (such as cations) can affect the local electrochemical environment.

Rational design of local microenvironment for electrocatalytic water splitting

“…13a). 168 You et al constructed Au@Pd core–shell nanostructures to enhance Raman spectroscopy to study the behavior of water at different cationic electrolyte interfaces on palladium surfaces and found that the order of increase in interface water peak frequency at a given potential was: Li + < Na + < K + < Ca 2+ < Sr 2+ (Fig. 13b).…”