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 language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 373-384 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry |
Volume | 295 |
Issue number | 1-2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Nov 26 1990 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Analytical Chemistry
- General Chemical Engineering
- Electrochemistry