Electrochemically assessed corrosion reactivity of YBa2Cu3O7 electrodes

David R. Riley, John T. McDevitt

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This paper describes a series of electrochemical measurements designed to explore the surface reactivity of the oxide superconductor YBa2Cu3O7. The electrochemical response of electrodes prepared from this material was found to be highly dependent on both the method of surface treatment and on the amount of water in the electrolytic fluid. In the absence of water, YBa2Cu3O7 behaved as a normal metal electrode and reproducible voltammetry was obtained in the potential window of 1.3 V to -1.4 V vs. SCE. At these potentials, faradaic electron transfer reactions for solution dissolved redox couples were readily observed at YBa2Cu3O7 and were similar in behavior to those obtained at noble metals such as Pt. At potentials outside this window, degradation of the electrode surface occurred. In addition, a very sensitive method has been developed for evaluating the quality of the surface of high temperature superconductors based on monitoring ΔEp values in cyclic voltammetry.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)373-384
Number of pages12
JournalJournal of Electroanalytical Chemistry
Volume295
Issue number1-2
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 26 1990

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Analytical Chemistry
  • General Chemical Engineering
  • Electrochemistry

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