Structural changes of a Pt(111) electrode induced by electrosorption of oxygen in acidic solutions: A coupled voltammetry, LEED and AES study

In this paper, we describe the apparatus which allows us to study by LEED and AES the surface of a single crystal electrode before and after it is submitted to voltammetric experiments sheltered from atmospheric air. This apparatus is used to contribute to the study of the old problem of platinum electrode “activation”. Firstly, we determine which voltammogram shape does actually correspond to the first hydrogen electrochemical adsorption-desorption process onto a clean, well ordered Pt(111) surface. Secondly, we study by LEED and AES the changes in the Pt(111) electrode surface structure induced by a few electrochemical oxygen adsorption- desorption cycles.