In-Situ STM Study of Electrode-Ionic Liquid Interface

2 In-Situ STM Study of Electrode-Ionic Liquid Interface 

Room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) are compounds that are composed of organic cations and multiatom anions in the liquid state near or below room temperature. They are well suited as solvents for electrochemistry [40] as they have wide electrochemical windows, good thermal stability, and low vapor pressure. Notably, RTILs provide opportunities for investigating electrode processes that take place outside the potential range limited by 

2 ) structure. This is foUowed by the observation of a clear atomic-resolution 

STM image of bare Au(100)-(1 x 1) at -0.5 V. The fourfold square lattice of the Au(lOO) surface is clearly identified from the images, with periodicities close to the inter-atomic distance of the corresponding surface. The adsorption of BMI+ cations successively forms disordered and then ordered micelle-like structures at potentials negative of -0.7 V [42], The potential region where the adsorption of anions and cations are observed are just at the two sides of the potential of capacitance maxima in a differential capacitance curve for the system, providing an experimental basis to validate theoretical prediction that potential of zero charge (PZC) is located close to the maxima [45]. 

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