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Fellow 1991-92

Andrew A. Gewirth

Chemistry

Atomic Resolution Electrochemistry of Deposition Processes on Electrode Surfaces

Professor Gewirth and his team are using Atomic Force and Scanning Tunneling Microscopies to study fundamental processes on electrode surfaces in solution and under potential control. These microscopies enable them to identify with atomic resolution the structure of monolayers of metal atoms electrochemically deposited on surfaces. They focus on the energetics and kinetics of the formation and dissolution of these monolayers and on their catalytic properties. They have found that a given adatom/surface combination will exhibit different monolayer structures in different electrolytes. They are in the process of correlating these different structures with the catalytic properties of monolayer deposition-modified electrode surface. The atomic resolution available in the electrochemical environment enables them to obtain fundamental insight into electrode processes.