This project by Professor Dan Scherson of Case Western Reserve University in the Analytical and Surface Chemistry program is designed to gain insight into the mechanisms of redox reactions involving nitrogen and sulfur oxides and oxyanions in aqueous electrolytes. Irreversibly adsorbed catalysts for these reactions will be studied in situ by use of different surface spectroscopies. The microtopography of clean and surface modified metal crystal surfaces will also be studied with these same spectroscopic methods. Identification of the reactive intermediates will provide insight into the mechanisms of these reactions. The study is of fundamental importance in the design of new electrocatalysts, and in the design of specific sensors for species such as nitric oxide, which has been shown to have wide-ranging biological activity.
Oxidation and reduction reactions of nitrogen and sulfur oxides on electrode surfaces is important in catalysis as well as in biochemical systems, and it has been suspected that there are key intermediates in the reaction that are not yet identified. Professor Scherson and his group at Case Western Reserve University will use surface spectroscopic methods to identify these intermediates and assess their catalytic importance.
