Digital Commons @ Connecticut College

Title

Liquid Phase Electrochemistry at Ultralow Temperatures

Authors

Royce W. Murray, University of North Carolina at Chapel HillFollow
Stanton Ching, Connecticut CollegeFollow
John T. McDevitt, University of Texas at AustinFollow
Stephen R. Peck

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

8-1991

Comments

© The Electrochemical Society, Inc. 1991. All rights reserved. Except as provided under U.S. copyright law, this work may not be reproduced, resold, distributed, or modified without the express permission of The Electrochemical Society (ECS). The archival version of this work was published in Journal Of The Electrochemical Society, 138(8), 2308-2315.

DOI: 10.1149/1.2085966

http://dx.doi.org/10.1149/1.2085966

Abstract

Fluid electrolyte solutions based on mixtures of butyronitrile (PrCN) and ethyl chloride (EtCl) with or as electrolyte freeze below −180°C and provide excellent media for cryogenic electrochemical experiments. A 1:2 mixture of PrCN and EtCl exhibits the best combination of freezing point and ionic conductivity for ultralow temperature electrochemistry. Diffusion coefficients for bis(pentamethylcyclopentadienyl) iron are measurable by potential step chronoamperometry down to −160°C using a conventionally sized electrode, but the resistivity of the solvent mixture is such that potential sweep voltammetry benefits from the use of microdisk (10 and 25 μm diam Pt) or microband (0.2 μm wide Au) electrodes. Voltammetry at a chemically modified electrode down to −170°C is presented for the case of thin films.

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Recommended Citation

Ching, S., McDevitt, J. T., Peck, S. R., & Murray, R. W. Liquid phase electrochemistry at ultralow temperatures. J. Electrochem. Soc. 1991, 138, 2308-2315.