Abstract
The surface of a number of metals such as platinum, gold, rhodium and palladium, which are of particular interest in catalytic and electrocatalytic processes, either as polycrystalline or single-crystal specimens, can be preferentially orientated by a procedure known as electrochemical faceting1–3. Here we report the first real-space observation in the nanometric range of electrochemically faceted (100)-type Pt electrodes, using scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM)4. Our findings confirm the existence of a faceted surface consisting of flat parts surrounded by ridge-type structures. At the initial stages cluster formation is observed, which subsequently develops in a preferential orientation. This constitutes direct evidence that faceting occurs through a selective electrodissolution/electrodeposition process, which probably involves a fast diffusion of metallic species either in the electrolyte or on the surface.
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Gómez, J., Vázquez, L., Baró, A. et al. Surface topography of (100)-type electro-faceted platinum from scanning tunnelling microscopy and electrochemistry. Nature 323, 612–614 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/323612a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/323612a0
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