Elsevier

Surface Science

Volume 319, Issues 1–2, 1 November 1994, Pages L17-L22
Surface Science

Surface science letter
In-situ observation of the electrochemical Hg/Au amalgam process on an Au electrode surface by atomic force microscopy

https://doi.org/10.1016/0039-6028(94)90562-2Get rights and content

Abstract

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has been applied to investigate in situ the Hg/Au amalgam process by depositing the excess Hg atoms on an Au electrode surface in an acidic solution, which has led to form an Au/Hg alloy layer. We found that the formation of alloy layer proceeded through an island-growth mechanism and the growth of these islands is always fed by dissolution of nearby gold clusters. Based on AFM observations, a simple model of the Hg/Au amalgam process is proposed.

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    Citation Excerpt :

    The background experiment in the electrolyte solution without Hg2+ (dot line) showed a small SPR dip shift (∼0.1°), which could be due to the charge of the double layer [10,11]. As previous works have reported, the Hg atoms could diffuse into the bulk Au to form the Hg–Au alloy once the coverage of the Hg exceeds one monolayer [12]. To observe the alloying process, the electrodeposition of Hg onto the Au film was performed at a constant potential of 0.1 V using the FI-EC-SPR method.

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