Electrochemical promotion of catalytic reactions

The electrochemical promotion of heterogeneously catalyzed reactions (EPOC) became feasible through the use of porous metal electrodes interfaced to a solid electrolyte. With the O2− conducting yttrium stabilized zirconia (YSZ), the Na+ conducting β″-Al2O3 (β-alumina), and several other types of solid electrolytes the EPOC effect has been demonstrated for about 100 reaction systems in studies conducted mainly in the mbar range. Surface science investigations showed that the physical basis for the EPOC effect lies in the electrochemically induced spillover of oxygen and alkali metal, respectively, onto the surface of the metal electrodes. For the catalytic promotion effect general concepts and mechanistic schemes were proposed but these concepts and schemes are largely speculative. Applying surface analytical tools to EPOC systems the proposed mechanistic schemes can be verified or invalidated. This report summarizes the progress which has been achieved in the mechanistic understanding of the EPOC effect.