Time-resolved infrared study of electrochemical reactions

Real-time monitoring of electrochemical reactions by time-resolved infrared spectroscopy in conjunction with cyclic voltammetry is described. Newly developed attenuated-total-reflectinn surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy (ATR-SEIRAS) technique was employed in acquiring the spectra of electrode/electrolyte interfaces instead of infrared reflection absorption technique that has been used in previous studies. The high sensitivity of ATR-SEIRAS enables time-resolved study of reactions. The redox behavior of heptylviologen at a Ag electrode and the adsorption of sulfate at a highly ordered Au(111) surface during the Cu underpotential deposition are discussed.