APPLICATION OF SPE COMPOSITE MICROELECTRODES TO THE STUDY OF THE SPILLOVER OF ADSORBED SPECIES ON ELECTRODE SURFACES

The electrochemical behavior of ferrocene in acetonitrile at the plati num\Nafion (R) interface was investigated using SPE composite microele ctrodes. Two parallel reactions take place at the interface. The redox reaction of ferrocene\ferricinium ions predominates at the platinum\N afion (R) composite microdisk electrode, while the adsorption or desor ption of atomic hydrogen predominates at the platinum black\Nafion (R) composite powder microelectrode. This fact implies that the electroch emical reactions take place only at the interface and the adsorption o f atomic hydrogen can occur on surface sites remote from the interface . The SPE composite microelectrode seems to be a potential technique o f investigating the spillover of adsorbed species on the electrode sur face. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.