engleski

The influence of frequency on fractal dimension of adsorbed layers

Alternating current (AC) voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy are often the methods of choice for use in study of adsorption of organic molecules. The adsorption of organic molecules on interface may result in the formation of fractal structures, whose fractal dimension can be estimated using the method of scaling the hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE). The aim of present study was to check whether the estimated fractal dimension, D (or for that matter the fractal ordering of the adsorbed layer) shows any correlation (dependence) with change of applied frequency, and second, to check the possibility to extend the method to broad frequency spectrum compatible with impedance spectroscopy. The investigation included two surfactants nonionic Triton-X-100 (T-X-100) and anionic sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and alcohol tert-butanol. All measurements were performed on HMDE at thermodynamic equilibrium employing broad frequency spectrum. The validity of the approach was checked by measurements on pure electrolyte and by comparison with previously obtained results for fractal layers. The results of the investigations show that: (1) the method of scaling the HMDE to obtain the fractal dimension of adsorbed layer is compatible with impedance spectroscopy and the combination of these methods can be used as a powerful tool to investigate fractal aspect of adsorption of organic molecules ; (2) fractal ordering of adsorbed layer and the value of fractal dimension is not influenced by the frequency of applied sinusoidal voltage perturbations.

frequency dependence; adsorption; fractal analysis; impedance spectroscopy; Triton-X-100; sodium dodecyl sulfate; tert-butanol

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