ELECTROCHEMICAL AND SPECTROSCOPIC STUDIES OF POLYCRYSTALLINE NICKEL SURFACES WITH RELEVANCE TO THE SIMONS ELECTROCHEMICAL FLUORINATION PROCESS

摘要

The Simons electrochemical fluorination (ECF) process is an important method for the electrosynthesis of a variety of perfluorinated organic compounds of commercial interest.This reaction is believed to occur on sites on,or within a film formed on nickel anodes at the high potentials required for electrofluorination to ensue.Although the film undoubtedly contains one or more forms of nickel fluorides,its detailed structure and composition,as well as the nature of the active sites responsible for the electrocatalytic activity,still remain to be elucidated.2 This work exploits the elemental and surface specificity of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy,XPS,to gain insight into various aspects of Ni anodes for Simons ECF using conditions which avoid exposure of specimens to the ambient atmosphere.