Electrochemical Behavior of Gold Electrode Systems

Gold electrodes occupy a unique position in electrochemical science owing to their remarkable conductivity, chemical inertness and well‐defined surface structure. Under applied potentials, gold surfaces undergo reversible oxidation and reduction processes that govern charge transfer, surface morphology and catalytic function. At low anodic voltages, adsorbed hydroxyl species can induce place‐exchange mechanisms leading to limited gold dissolution, whereas higher potentials foster robust oxide layers that momentarily passivate the surface but eventually evolve into active sites for reactions such as oxygen evolution. Morphological changes—from atomic‐scale reconstruction to nanoscale roughening—directly influence double‐layer capacitance, reaction kinetics and long‐term stability. Understanding these intertwined phenomena is crucial for applications spanning fuel cells, sensing platforms and sustainable recycling methods, where control of gold’s electrochemical behaviour can enhance performance, durability and resource recovery.

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Electrochemical Behavior of Gold Electrode Systems publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in electrochemical behavior of gold electrode systems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy: measurement of a system’s impedance response to small alternating current perturbations to dissect charge‐transfer resistance and mass‐transport phenomena.

Anodic dissolution: oxidation‐driven release of metal ions from the electrode surface into the electrolyte.

Passivation: formation of an oxide or adsorbed layer that inhibits further electrochemical reaction at the metal interface.

Scanning flow cell: microfluidic electrochemical cell enabling spatially resolved and time-resolved analysis of dissolution and interfacial processes.

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry: analytical technique for quantifying trace metal dissolution by ionising samples in a plasma and measuring mass-to-charge ratios.

References

1. Investigation of the behaviour of gold mesh electrodes in electrically controllable membrane electrode assemblies. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy (2024).
2. Toward Eco‐Friendly E‐Waste Recycling: New Perspectives on Ozone‐Assisted Gold Leaching. Advanced Energy and Sustainability Research (2024).
3. In Situ STM Study of Roughening of Au(111) Single-Crystal Electrode in Sulfuric Acid Solution during Oxidation–Reduction Cycles. The Journal of Physical Chemistry C (2024).
4. Role of OH Intermediates during the Au Oxide Electro-Reduction at Low pH Elucidated by Electrochemical Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy and Implicit Solvent Density Functional Theory. ACS Catalysis (2020).
5. Imaging the Heterogeneity of the Oxygen Evolution Reaction on Gold Electrodes Operando: Activity is Highly Local. ACS Catalysis (2020).
6. pH Dependence of Noble Metals Dissolution: Gold. ChemElectroChem (2024).