In Situ Vibrational Spectroscopy of Electrode Interfaces

In situ sum frequency generation (SFG) vibrational spectroscopy is used to study the alkanethiolate monolayer on metal electrodes.  The electrode potential is swept from the double layer region toward the cathodic limits in basic electrolyte solution and the reductive desorption process is observed.  Correlations in the cathodic current and SFG spectra are made to help elucidate details of the monolayer film under the desorption process.  SFG spectroscopy of the monolayer reveals feature that could not easily be deduced by ex situ analysis.