Effect of electrochemical pretreatment on SERS and catalytic activity of Cu-Zr amorphous alloys

This paper presents results of electrochemical, microscopic, spectroelectro chemical (SERS) and catalytic investigations of Cu-Zr amorphous alloy ribbo ns aimed at increasing their catalytic activity for the dehydrogenation rea ction of aliphatic alcohols. Rapid dissolution in sulphuric acid/copper sul phate solution of partially devitrified Cu-Zr ribbons resulted in a nearly twofold enhancement of their catalytic activity for dehydrogenation of 2-pr opanol, However, their local SERS activity on the Cu rich areas was not dis tinctly altered by this electrochemical pretreatment. Yet, the SERS heterog eneity of the devitrified material vanished: the SERS intensity increased c onsiderably outside the Cu rich areas, A tentative mechanism of the effects of various electrochemical pretreatments on the surface activity is discus sed. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.