The quartz microbalance: A sensitive tool to probe surface reconstructions on gold electrodes in liquid

A quartz resonator operated in solution is a sensitive tool to probe surface reconstructions on metal electrodes subjected to an electrochemical oxidiation/reduction cycle. The analysis of mass changes obtained on gold electrodes in neutral and alkaline solutions demonstrates that about 20% of the observed change is due to oxygen incorporation into the metal surface with the remainder arising from liquid confined in pockets of the roughened, oxidized surface. The roughening was confirmed by SEM micrographs.