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Electrochemical study to explore the capacitance properties of the TiO2/solution interface

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Abstract

In this study, we employed classic electrochemical techniques including cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) to perform electrochemical characterization on atomic-level single-crystal TiO2 electrodes and extract capacitive and resistive properties of single-crystal TiO2 electrode/solution interface in KCl and KCl/K3PO4 at various pH levels. The lattice structure and crystal appearance were characterized using X-ray diffractometry (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Raman spectroscopy to facilitate the in-depth exploration of heterogeneous reaction dynamics and theory. Furthermore, this study aimed to verify and improve the theory and application of capacitance at the single-crystal TiO2 electrode/solution interface. The electrochemical measurements indicate that, in the same pH, the presence of PO43− significantly increases the total capacitance (CT), outer capacitance (CO), electrical double-layer capacitance (Cdl), and diffusion layer capacitance (Cdiff) at single-crystal TiO2 electrode/solution interface. This enhancement is attributed to the direct interaction between PO43− and the single-crystal TiO2 electrode surface, leading to the specific adsorption of PO43− on the electrode surface, revealing higher current and stronger electrochemical activity in the interaction between TiO2 and PO43−. Additionally, our XPS results indicate the adsorption of PO43− on the single-crystal TiO2 electrode surface. The interaction of PO43− with the TiO2 surface demonstrates increased hydrophilicity and enhanced adsorption capacity through mechanisms such as ligand exchange or cation bridging, thereby augmenting the Cdl at the single-crystal TiO2 electrode/solution interface.

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Funding

The work was funded by the National Natural Science Fund of China (no. 52100187).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Technology, School of Civil Engineering, University of South China, Hengyang, 421001, China

    Hengyi Yu, Jinxiang Liu, Jiaqi Huang & Chao Xiang

  2. School of Civil Engineering, University of South China, Hengyang, 421001, China

    Hengyi Yu, Jinxiang Liu, Jiaqi Huang & Chao Xiang

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  1. Hengyi Yu
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  2. Jinxiang Liu
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  4. Chao Xiang
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Contributions

H.Y. wrote the main manuscript text. H.Y. and J.L. completed revising and reviewing the paper. H.Y. and J.H. jointly completed the experimental. C.X. presented the main innovation of the text. All authors reviewed the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Chao Xiang.

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Yu, H., Liu, J., Huang, J. et al. Electrochemical study to explore the capacitance properties of the TiO2/solution interface. Ionics 30, 2217–2228 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11581-024-05427-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11581-024-05427-2

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