Investigation of the charge distribution at the Pt(111)-CO electrochemical interface coupling in situ surface resonant X-Ray Diffraction wit

The description of structural and electronic properties at the electrochemical interface is of primary importance for the comprehension of the electro-catalytic mechanisms, a challenging topic for the understanding of the electrochemical reactivity. While surface scattering has become a standard X-Ray technique for the surface atomic structure description, up to now no experimental method allowed obtaining the charge distribution of the catalyst surface and in the electrolyte in the interfacial region.
We recently could demonstrate that, combining in situ Surface Resonant X-Ray Diffraction (SRXRD) experiments and ab initio DFT calculations, it is possible to access the interfacial charge distribution. In order to further develop the potential of our original approach, we now want to investigate the CO adsorption on Pt(111). CO/Pt(111°) represents a challenging system for the use of Pt as a catalyst in fuel cells, due to the known poisoning problems.