Electrochemical annealing

Surface diffusion and electrochemically annealed surfaces, 86 Surface potential... 

The presence of electroactive adsorbate at defect sites can be reduced to insignificant levels using annealing methods such as the chemical annealing method of Chidsey and Loiacono [45] or the electrochemical annealing method of Finklea et al. [89]. 

Shortly after Chidsey and co-workers initial papers. Miller et al. reported full characterization of Au-S(CH2) OH monolayers (System 5, = 6-12, 14, 16) by ellipsometry, XPS and electrochemical methods [44]. The nearly defect-free nature of the monolayers was attributed to hydrogen-bonding interactions between neighboring adsorbate chains at the film-electrolyte interface. The level of defects was probed by varying bridging halides, which should change electron-transfer processes at pinholes from outer to inner sphere. Electrochemical annealing was found to improve the EBE [44]. Later, they showed that defects in the SAMs are on the... 

This annealing behavior is very similar in nature to the electrochemical annealing which produced an irreversible quench of the SERS when cathodic potentials were reached [see Section II.2(ii)]. 

It is therefore pleasing to observe that the electric field or, equivalently, the potential, has a similar effect on the surface mobility as does the temperature. The term electrochemical annealing, which is often used to denote the coarsening of electrode surfaces that occurs at high potentials [16], alludes to this fact. 

Mayrhofer KJJ, Hanzlik M, Arenz M (2009) The influence of electrochemical annealing in CO saturated solution on the catalytic activity of Pt nanoparticles. Electrochim Acta 54(22) 5018-5022... 

Fig.S AFM images illustrating the electrochemical annealing process for an overlayer of S-(ET)2l3- A nearly coherent overlayer (a) begins to dissolve (b) upon switching the electrochemical potential to a...

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