Step and island dynamics on Cu(111), Ag (111) and Au(100) electrodes in electrolyte

Abstract

This paper deals first with recent experimental data on equilibrium step flucuations on metal electrodes in contact with an electrolyte. The dynamics of steps on Cu(1 1 1) and Ag(1 1 1) electrodes is Studied as a function of the electrode potential and temperature. From the Arrhenius-like temperature dependence of the fluctuations we deduce pre-exponential factors and activation energies for surface diffusion and dissolution processes. In the second part of the paper we discuss new results on island dynamics on Au(1 0 0) electrodes. From the time dependence of the island edge fluctuations and from the islands equilibrium shape we determine kink and step energies. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved