Atypical electric behavior of the double layer. Experimental case studies: Rh(111) in aqueous HCl solutions, and Au(111) in an ionic liquid, BMIPF<sub>6</sub>

Pajkossy, Tamás

doi:10.1351/PAC-CON-10-06-10

Pure Appl. Chem., 2011, Vol. 83, No. 2, pp. 259-268

http://dx.doi.org/10.1351/PAC-CON-10-06-10

Published online 2010-11-02

Atypical electric behavior of the double layer. Experimental case studies: Rh(111) in aqueous HCl solutions, and Au(111) in an ionic liquid, BMIPF₆

Tamás Pajkossy

Institute of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Chemical Research Center, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Pusztaszeri út 59-67, Budapest H-1025, Hungary

Abstract: Cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and zero-charge-potential measurements have been performed for the title systems. The results of the Rh(111)/aqueous HCl solutions demonstrate that in solutions of binary electrolytes with adsorbing anions the interfacial impedance is a single, indivisible element, even if its frequency dependence implies a four-element circuit. The measurements on Au(111) in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate (BMIPF₆) reveal that double-layer formation and rearrangement in ionic liquids are very slow processes manifesting themselves as a parallel combination of a capacitance and a constant phase element (CPE).