Electrochemical reduction of nitrate ions on copper coatings of various roughness under conditions of mixed transport and kinetic control
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17308/kcmf.2026.28/13556Keywords:
Surface roughness, Copper coating, Nitrate ion, Electrochemical reduction, Mixed kinetics, Atomic force microscopy, VoltammetryAbstract
Objectives: In this work, the influence of electrode surface roughness on the kinetics of the non-stationary electrochemical process of cathodic reduction of nitrate ion under conditions of mixed transport-kinetic control under potentiostatic polarization conditions is established.
Experimental: The research was carried out on two copper coatings obtained by galvanostatic deposition from a copper sulfate electrolyte, which was supplemented with various organic additives to vary the roughness of the synthesized copper coatings. The kinetics of the electrochemical reduction of nitrate ions on the obtained copper coatings were studied by transient electrochemical methods of voltammetry and chronoammetry in an aqueous deaerated solution of 10 mM KNO3 + 100 mM H2SO4. Potentiostatic measurements were performed at a cathodic potential of -470 mV, corresponding to a mixed transport-kinetic control. The surface roughness of the synthesized copper coatings was evaluated using atomic force microscopy and underpotential deposition of lead monolayer.
Conclusion: Based on the previously developed theoretical model of the electrochemical process occurring in a mixed transport-kinetic mode on a rough electrode, an approach is proposed for estimating the main parameters of the kinetic stage, taking into account normalization to the real surface area, using the example of the electrichemical reduction of nitrate ions on copper coatings of various roughness. Within the framework of this approach, it was found that a rougher copper coating is characterized by higher values of the heterogeneous constant of the rate and density of the exchange current, which indicates an increase in the electrocatalytic activity of copper in the reaction under study during the transition to electrodes with increased roughness
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