A Study of the Adsorption of Acetonitrile on a Gold Electrode from Aqueous Solutions Using In situ Vibrational Spectroscopy

Abstract

The structure of the interphase at the gold/aqueous solution interface with absorbed acetonitrile was studied by subtractively normalized FTIR spectroscopy (SNIFTIRS). Two types of acetonitrile and water molecules were observed in the interphasal region. The first involved chemisorbed molecules in which important vibrational modes are strongly shifted in frequency with respect to that observed in the bulk of the solution. In the case of acetonitrile, adsorption resulted in a C - N stretching band at 2342 cm-1, and for water, a bending mode at 1688 cm-1. The second type of molecule in the double layer with a band at 2261 cm-1 in the case of acetonitrile, and at 1628 cm-1 in the case of water was assumed to be hydrogen bonded to chemisorbed water molecules, and thus located further away from the geometrical interface. A band due to perchlorate ion at 1107 cm-1 is attributed to anions attracted into the double layer by the positive charge on the electrode. No evidence was obtained for contact adsorption of this anion.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 24, 1992
Accession Number
ADA250191

Entities

People

  • Artur J. Motheo
  • Guojun Liu
  • Peter W. Faguy
  • William Ronald Fawcett

Organizations

  • University of California, Davis

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acetonitrile
  • Adsorption
  • Aqueous Solutions
  • Carbon Monoxide
  • Cells
  • Chemical Synthesis
  • Chemistry
  • Dielectric Gases
  • Electrodes
  • Electron Density
  • Electrons
  • Frequency
  • Liquids
  • Military Research
  • Nitriles
  • Oxidation
  • Schematic Diagrams

Fields of Study

  • Chemistry

Readers

  • Electrochemical Surface Science
  • Structural Dynamics.
  • Thin Film Deposition Science.