The Oxygen Reduction Reaction on Pt Single Crystal Electrodes Modified with Aromatic Organic Molecules

Structural effects on the activity for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) have been studied on single crystal electrodes of Pt modified with six aromatic organic molecules (AOMs). The AOMs examined affect the ORR activity slightly. However, the activity of the sites uncovered by AOMs increases after the modification: the ORR activity of uncovered Pt(111) area after the modification of phthalocyanine is 2.5 times as high as that of bare Pt(111). t-BuTAP and iron (II) phthalocyanine also enhance the ORR on Pt(997). These facts show that adsorbed AOMs can enhance the ORR activity of the uncovered active sites on Pt electrodes.