In situ electrochemical SFG/DFG study of CN- and nitrile adsorption at Au from 1-butyl-1-methyl-pyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl) amide ionic liquid([BMP][TFSA]) containing 4-{2-[1-(2-cyanoethyl)-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinolin-6-yl]diazenyl} benzonitrile (CTDB) and K[Au(CN)2].

In this paper we report an in situ electrochemical Sum-/Difference Frequency Generation (SFG/DFG) spectroscopy investigation of the adsorption of nitrile and CN⁻ from the ionic liquid 1-butyl-1-methyl-pyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl) amide ([BMP][TFSA]) containing 4-{2-[1-(2-cyanoethyl)-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinolin-6-yl]-diazenyl}benzonitrile (CTDB) at Au electrodes in the absence and in the presence of the Au-electrodeposition process from K[Au(CN)2]. The adsorption of nitrile and its coadsorption with CN⁻ resulting either from the cathodic decomposition of the dye or from ligand release from the Au(I) cyanocomplex yield potential-dependent single or double SFG bands in the range 2,125-2,140 cm⁻¹, exhibiting Stark tuning values of ca. 3 and 1 cm⁻¹ V⁻¹ in the absence and presence of electrodeposition, respectively. The low Stark tuning found during electrodeposition correlates with the cathodic inhibiting effect of CTDB, giving rise to its levelling properties. The essential insensitivity of the other DFG parameters to the electrodeposition process is due to the growth of smooth Au.

SFG study of the ethanol in an acidic medium--Pt(110) interface: effects of the alcohol concentration.

Ethanol in an acidic solution-Pt(110) interface was studied by SFG spectroscopy (between 1820 and 2325 cm(-1)) to explore primarily the effects of the alcohol concentration. Stretching bands of H-Pt (ca. 1970 or 2050 cm(-1)) and CO (ca. 1980 and 2040 cm(-1)) species, produced by the ethanol oxidation, were detected during the adsorption and oxidation of 0-1 mol L(-1) ethanol in a 0.1 mol L(-1) HClO(4) solution on the electrode surface. Hydrogen and CO coadsorb stably on Pt(110) between 0.05 and 0.15 V in ethanol-containing solutions. In this potential range, the blue shift of the hydrogen resonance (ca. 80 cm(-1)) reveals a weakening of the hydrogen bonding between adsorbed hydrogen and water molecules in the double layer. After the hydrogen desorption (0.15 V), the formation of compact CO islands, depending on the ethanol concentration, lifts the Pt(110) surface reconstruction. In ethanol-free solution, the surface remains reconstructed. The lower-frequency CO band is assigned to the CO species adsorbed on (1 x 2) reconstructed Pt(110) domains, having smaller local coverages, while the higher-frequency CO band is attributed to the close-packed CO species adsorbed on (1 x 1) patches. The reaction pathway forming CO(2) is less favored with increasing ethanol concentration.