A theory for amalgam forming electrode reactions

Cyclic Voltammetry Probe Approach Curves with Alkali Amalgams at Mercury Sphere-Cap Scanning Electrochemical Microscopy Probes

We report a method of precisely positioning a Hg-based ultramicroelectrode (UME) for scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) investigations of any substrate. Hg-based probes are capable of performing amalgamation reactions with metal cations, which avoid unwanted side reactions and positive feedback mechanisms that can prove problematic for traditional probe positioning methods. However, prolonged collection of ions eventually leads to saturation of the amalgam accompanied by irreversible loss of Hg. In order to obtain negative feedback positioning control without risking damage to the SECM probe, we implement cyclic voltammetry probe approach surfaces (CV-PASs), consisting of CVs performed between incremental motor movements. The amalgamation current, peak stripping current, and integrated stripping charge extracted from a shared CV-PAS give three distinct probe approach curves (CV-PACs), which can be used to determine the tip-substrate gap to within 1% of the probe radius. Using finite element simulations, we establish a new protocol for fitting any CV-PAC and demonstrate its validity with experimental results for sodium and potassium ions in propylene carbonate by obtaining over 3 orders of magnitude greater accuracy and more than 20-fold greater precision than existing methods. Considering the timescales of diffusion and amalgam saturation, we also present limiting conditions for obtaining and fitting CV-PAC data. The ion-specific signals isolated in CV-PACs allow precise and accurate positioning of Hg-based SECM probes over any sample and enable the deployment of CV-PAS SECM as an analytical tool for traditionally challenging conditions.

Theory of the transition from sequential to concerted electrochemical proton-electron transfer

A theory for the calculation of potential energy surfaces of electrochemical proton-coupled electron transfer is considered and parameterized on the basis of thermodynamic relations. The paper discusses the qualitatively different potential energy surfaces predicted by the theory, and their relation to the existence of sequential and concerted proton-electron transfer pathways. The concomitant activation energies for sequential and concerted PET are calculated. The applied overpotential may change the qualitative shape of the PES and therefore the mechanism of the proton-coupled electron transfer reaction.

Two-electron transfer for Tl(aq)(3+)/Tl(aq)(+) revisited. Common virtual [Tl(II)-Tl(II)](4+) intermediate for homogeneous (superexchange) and electrode (sequential) mechanisms

Homogeneous and electrochemical two-electron transfers within the Tl(aq)(3+)/Tl(aq)(+) couple are considered on a common conceptual basis. For the 2 equiv electrochemical reduction of Tl(aq)(3+) to Tl(aq)(+), the intermediate state with a formal reduction potential, E(1) = 1.04 +/- 0.10 V vs the normal hydrogen electrode, was detected, different from the established value of 0.33 V for a Tl(3+)/Tl(2+) couple. Examination of obtained electrochemical (cyclic voltammetry (CV) and rotating disk electrode techniques, along with the CV-curve computer simulation procedure) and literature data indicate that the detected formal potential cannot be the property of electrode-adsorbed species, but rather of the covalently interacting dithallium intermediate [Tl(II)-Tl(II)](4+) located at the outer Helmholtz plane. The analysis of microscopic mechanisms, based on the recent hypothesis of H. Taube and the Marcus-Hush theory extended by Zusman and Beratan, and Koper and Schmickler, revealed that the homogeneous process most probably takes place through the superexchange inner-sphere two-electron-transfer mechanism, via an essentially virtual (undetectable) dithallium intermediate. In contrast, the electrochemical process occurs through a sequential mechanism, via the rate-determining step of Tl(aq)(2+) ion formation immediately followed by activationless formation of the metastable (CV-active) dithallium state. The second electrochemical electron-transfer step is fast, and shows up only in the peak height (but not in the shape) of the observed CV cathodic wave. The anodic wave for a microscopically reverse process of the oxidation of Tl(aq)(+) to Tl(aq)(3+) cannot be observed within the considered potential range due to the blocking of through-space electron transfer by the competitor process of ion transfer to the electrode.