ABSTRACT
The adsorption behavior of several acids, as evidenced via in situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, features some important properties of the platinum surface at the electrochemical interface. Acids having a very weak proton-donor character in solution, dissociate upon adsorption at Pt(hkl). This behavior, which is enhanced at increasing positive potentials, can be extended to the adlayer of water, as judged by results on adsorbed water at Pt(111). Electrocatalytic phenomena are discussed in the light of the gained information on the electrochemical interface. Data on the oxidation of small organic molecules correlate very well with a model suggested for the interaction of water with the Pt surface.
