Ab Elektro Group
Aberdeen’s Electrochemistry group is led by Prof Angel Cuesta. Our research is essentially of experimental nature, and focuses on fundamental aspects of interfacial electron transfer, structure of the electrical double layer, and electrocatalysis. Other research areas of activity are corrosion and metal electrodeposition. Methodologically, our research is characterised by the combination of classical electrochemical techniques with non-electrochemical techniques that can provide, in situ, information about the chemical nature of species present at the electrode-electrolyte interface or about the structure, at the atomic scale, of the electrode surface and the electrical double layer. High time (spectroscopy) and spatial (microscopy) resolutions inform our strategy to reach that detailed level of information. The techniques we regularly make use of include, but are not limited to, vibrational and optical spectroscopies, and high-resolution scanning probe microscopy (STM and AFM). This is illustrated in the figure below, which shows time-resolved series of spectra (left) recorded during the adsorption of CO on a Pt electrode at two different potentials, and atomically resolved STM images (right) of a cyanide-modified Pt(111) electrode obtained at 0.3 V vs. RHE, after reduction of pre-adsorbed Cu2+.
