How the ionic liquid [C2C1Im][OTf] affects the stability of Pt(111) during potential cycling

Hilpert F, Qiu Y, Lahn L, Höllring K, Taccardi N, Wasserscheid P, Kasian O, Smith AS, Mayrhofer KJ, Briega-Martos V, Cherevko S, Brummel O, Libuda J (2025)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2025

Journal

Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics Royal Society of Chemistry

DOI: 10.1039/d5cp00391a

Abstract

Modifying electrocatalysts with ionic liquids (ILs) not only allows for precise control of selectivity but also often directly impacts the stability of the electrocatalyst. In this work, we study how the IL 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium trifluoromethanesulfonate [C2C1Im][OTf] influences the electrochemical stability of the Pt(111) surface in acidic electrolyte (0.1 M HClO4) during oxidation and reduction cycles (ORCs; 0.05-1.5 VRHE). We used complementary electrochemical in situ methods, namely, cyclic voltammetry (CV), online inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), and electrochemical scanning tunneling microscopy (EC-STM) in combination with an algorithmic pattern recognition approach. In the absence of the IL, Pt(111) dissolves during oxidative cycling via cathodic transient dissolution. In consecutive cycles, small Pt clusters are formed, which grow with increasing cycle number. In the presence of the IL, the dissolution rate increases by a factor of 5 and an additional anodic dissolution pathway occurs. The changes in the dissolution behavior during ORCs, however, have only minor impact on the morphological changes and the adsorption sites formed. We explain latter observation by the dominance of morphological changes due to the formation and reduction of an amorphous oxide layer, as opposed to dissolution and redeposition.

Authors with CRIS profile

Felix Hilpert Lehrstuhl für Katalytische Grenzflächenforschung Kevin Höllring Physics Underlying Life Science (PULS) Nicola Taccardi Lehrstuhl für Chemische Reaktionstechnik (CRT) Ana-Suncana Smith Physics Underlying Life Science (PULS) Olaf Brummel Lehrstuhl für Katalytische Grenzflächenforschung Jörg Libuda Lehrstuhl für Katalytische Grenzflächenforschung

Involved external institutions

Forschungszentrum Jülich / Research Centre Jülich (FZJ) DE Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Hilpert, F., Qiu, Y., Lahn, L., Höllring, K., Taccardi, N., Wasserscheid, P.,... Libuda, J. (2025). How the ionic liquid [C2C1Im][OTf] affects the stability of Pt(111) during potential cycling. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics. https://doi.org/10.1039/d5cp00391a

MLA:

Hilpert, Felix, et al. "How the ionic liquid [C2C1Im][OTf] affects the stability of Pt(111) during potential cycling." Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics (2025).

BibTeX: Download