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Abstract:
By coadsorbing hydrogen and water on Pt(111) and Cu(110), and isotopically substituting (H)ad by (D)ad, we have unambiguously identified the occurrence of the electrochemical reaction (H)ad + (H2O)ad→(H3O+)ad + e−metal in UHV. On Pt(111), a substantial fraction of the hydrogen is oxidized to (H3O+)ad, whereas on Cu(110), this does not occur. On Pt(111), the proton in the initial (H3O+)ad complex is seen to exchange readily with excess water. Hydrated proton formation on Pt(111) was also observed at higher temperatures, where water only has a finite residence time on the surface