Capacitance of the double electrical layer on the copper-group metals in molten alkali metal halides

Abstract

The electrochemical impedance is measured to study the capacitance of the double electrical layer of metallic Au, Ag, and Cu as a function of potential and temperature in nine molten salts, namely, the chlorides, bromides, and iodides of sodium, potassium, and cesium. The C–E curve of a gold electrode has an additional minimum in the anodic branch. This minimum for silver is less pronounced and is only observed at low ac signal frequencies in cesium halides. The additional minimum is not detected for copper in any salt under study. This phenomenon is explained on the assumption that the adsorption of halide anions on a positively charged electrode surface has a predominantly chemical rather than an electrostatic character. The specific adsorption in this case is accompanied by charge transfer through the interface and the formation of an adsorbent–adsorbate covalent bond.