This paper discusses the ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) on rough Pt electrodes prepared through electrodeposition. EOR on Pt surfaces is typically characterized by a hysteretic cyclic voltammogram in low ethanol concentrations, where anodic current drops due to the formation of surface‐poisoning species that hinder further reaction. In this study, we show that Pt electrodes with increased surface roughness ( R f ) exhibit a linear EOR response up to 1.4 V versus RHE, in contrast to the hysteretic behavior reported in the literature. We further show that comparable linearity can be induced by increasing the bulk ethanol concentration or decreasing the water content in the electrolyte. These systemic perturbations suggest that enhanced surface roughness promotes higher local coverage of ethanol and its intermediates at the electrode surface, thereby suppressing competitive adsorption of water/OH − species and shifting Pt surface poisoning to more positive potentials. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the antipoisoning effect associated with rough Pt electrode can be amplified by polymer co‐electrodeposition, which yields lower current decay rates and higher acetate formation rates compared to rough Pt without polymer. Together, these findings highlight the critical role of catalyst surface roughness in mitigating surface‐poisoning processes and promoting efficient electro‐oxidation of small organic molecules.
Wang et al. (Thu,) studied this question.