In-situ to ex-situ in-plane structure evolution of stern layers on Pt(111) surface: Surface X-ray scattering studies

In-situ to ex-situ evolution of the Cs+ in-plane structure in electrochemical Stern layers are investigated on Pt(111) surface with surface X-ray scattering studies. The Cs+ single-sublattice (2 × 2) structure of the Stern layer formed in situ in 0.1 M CsF electrolyte [Liu et al., J. Phys. Chem. Lett., 9 (2018) 1265] evolves eventually to the two-sublattice (2 × 2) structure upon emersion from the electrolyte. While the Cs+ layers maintain the (2 × 2) symmetry, the ex situ layer increases the density progressively over several minutes by incorporating Cs+ ions of the electrolyte during the emersion process.