KINETICS OF ELECTROOXIDATION OF A CO MONOLAYER AT THE PLATINUM ELECTROLYTE INTERFACE/

The kinetics of electrooxidation of a complete monolayer of carbon mon oxide (CO) at the Pt/electrolyte interface is studied both theoretical ly and experimentally. Recent studies indicate that CO diffusion is an important process affecting considerably the CO oxidation reaction. B y comparing experimental and theoretical results, it is argued that th e reaction kinetics is significantly affected by CO diffusion over the electrode surface. On the other hand, the diffusion is found not to b e fast enough in order to reach the simple Langmuir-Hinshelwood kineti cs since the transient width depends very sensitively on the density o f surface defects. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.