ABSTRACT
Use of Variable Electrode Potentials and the Presence of Adsorbates.................. 45 2.2 Electrocatalysis of Interesting Processes ............................................................................. 49
2.2.1 Electrocatalysis of Methanol Adsorption and Oxidation ....................................... 49 2.2.2 Electrocatalysis of the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction ........................................... 56 2.2.3 Electrocatalysis of the Oxygen Electroreduction Reaction .................................... 60
2.2.3.1 Complexities of the Oxygen Electrocatalytic Reaction in Both Directions................................................................................... 61
2.2.3.2 Electroadsorption of Molecular Oxygen and the Formation of Surface Oxides on Platinum............................................................... 62
2.2.3.3 Reaction Intermediates in Oxygen Electroreduction .............................. 63 2.2.3.4 Effect of Crystallographic Orientation in the Oxygen
Electroreduction Reaction....................................................................... 64 2.2.3.5 Analysis of Experimental Data............................................................... 66 2.2.3.6 Oxygen Electroreduction Mechanism..................................................... 67
Appendix: Riccati’s Equation ......................................................................................................... 71 References ....................................................................................................................................... 72
The term ‘‘catalysis’’ was coined by Berzelius in 1835 and is derived from the Greek kata (go down) and lysis or lyein (letting). The first authors to introduce the term ‘‘catalytic electrode reactions’’ were Bowden and Rideal in 1928 [1], who observed the different currents that appear for a certain reaction on distinct electrode surfaces but under the same electrode potentials. There is still some controversy over the first use of the term ‘‘electrocatalysis.’’ It seems from the literature that the Soviets were the pioneers in the field of electrocatalysis since 1934 [2]. The first reported work in electrocatalysis was on fuel cell processes by Grubbs in the 1950s [3].
