Seeded growth fabrication of Cu-on-Si electrodes for in situ ATR-SEIRAS applications

• Published in: Electrochimica acta Vol. 52; no. 19; pp. 5950 - 5957
• Main Authors: Wang, Hui-Feng, Yan, Yan-Gang, Huo, Sheng-Juan, Cai, Wen-Bin, Xu, Qun-Jie, Osawa, Masatoshi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01.05.2007; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adsorption; ATR-SEIRAS; Carbon monoxide; Chemistry; Cu nanofilm electrode; Electrochemistry; Electrodes: preparations and properties; Exact sciences and technology; General and physical chemistry; Other electrodes; Pyridine; Seeded-growth; Study of interfaces; ATR-SEIRAS; Cu nanofilm electrode; Seeded-growth; Pyridine; Carbon monoxide; Si; Atomic force microscopy; Nanoparticle; In situ; Transition metal; Surface structure; Electrodes; Adsorption; Total attenuated reflection; Morphology; Preparation; Surface enhanced infrared absorption spectrometry; Silicon; Copper; Electrochemical reaction; Electroless plating; Modified material
• ISSN: 0013-4686; 1873-3859
• DOI: 10.1016/j.electacta.2007.03.042

A seeded-growth approach has been developed to fabricate a Cu nanoparticle film (simplified hereafter with nanofilm) on Si for electrochemical ATR surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy (ATR-SEIRAS). The approach comprises an initial activation of the reflecting plane of hemicylindrical Si prism by introducing a Cu seed layer in a CuSO 4-HF solution and the subsequent electroless deposition of the Cu nanofilms from an electroless Cu plating bath. The as-deposited Cu nanofilm exhibited strong SEIRA effect for the CO probe and interfacial free H 2O. ATR-SEIRAS was also applied to characterize the adsorbed geometries of pyridine at the Cu/electrolyte interface. Only vibrational bands assignable to the A 1 symmetry modes were detected in the entire potential window investigated, suggestive of an end-on adsorption via the ring N-atom on a Cu electrode.