Operando Characterization of Electrochemistry at the Rutile TiO2(110)/0.1 M HCl Interface Using Ambient Pressure XPS

Jiangdong Yu; Conor Byrne; Jameel Imran; Zoë Henderson; Katherine B Holt; Alexander I Large; Georg Held; Alex Walton; Geoff Thornton

doi:10.1021/acs.jpcc.4c07173

Operando Characterization of Electrochemistry at the Rutile TiO₂(110)/0.1 M HCl Interface Using Ambient Pressure XPS

J Phys Chem C Nanomater Interfaces. 2024 Nov 26;128(49):20933-20939. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.4c07173. eCollection 2024 Dec 12.

Authors

Jiangdong Yu¹, Conor Byrne^{2

3}, Jameel Imran¹, Zoë Henderson^{2

3}, Katherine B Holt⁴, Alexander I Large⁵, Georg Held⁵, Alex Walton^{2

3}, Geoff Thornton¹

Affiliations

¹ London Centre for Nanotechnology and Chemistry Department, University College London, 20 Gordon Street, London WC1H 0AJ, U.K.
² Department of Chemistry, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, U.K.
³ Photon Science Institute, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, U.K.
⁴ Chemistry Department, University College London, 20 Gordon Street, London WC1H 0AJ, U.K.
⁵ Diamond Light Source, Harwell Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, U.K.

Abstract

Ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (AP-XPS) was employed to investigate the effect of applied potential on the interface of TiO₂(110) with 0.1 M HCl. The study, which involved operando electrochemical characterization, enabled real-time monitoring and analysis of electrochemical processes. There is a significant influence on the interface composition; in particular, the surface Cl^- surface coverage varies with electrochemical potential. Moreover, there appears to be a reaction of evolved Cl with adventitious carbon to form C-Cl and C-Cl₂ species.