I. APPLICATIONS OF MICROPROCESSORS TO THE STUDY OF ELECTROCHEMISTRY AT THE ROTATING RING DISK ELECTRODE. II. STUDY OF ADSORPTION OF CARBON MONOXIDE AND HYDROGEN ON COPPER/ZINC OXIDE CATALYSTS

Microprocessors have become widely accepted in all branches of chemistry. A system based on the Motorola M6800 is described. It is a versatile system designed to interface with laboratory experiments and capable of communication with other computers. The configuration of the system and construction of the hardware component modules are detailed. Software was written to operate a video monitor and control electrochemical experiments.; The microprocessor was used in conjunction with a bi-potentiostat to control the potential of a rotating ring disk electrode (RRDE). The bi-potentiostat was constructed to provide independent control of two electrodes. An electrode rotor was designed to spin the electrode and provide electrical contact to the bi-potentiostat. A carbon paste RRDE was constructed as well as a novel rotating reference ring disk electrode R('3)DE. The electrochemical apparatus was used for impedance studies of a model system and the two redox couples copper and o-dianisidine at the rotating ring disk electrode. The R('3)DE is used to simulate an LCEC detector to determine parameters for phase sensitive detection at the ring.; A series of binary Cu/ZnO catalysts were studied to determine the type of adsorption and the adsorptive capacity of the samples for CO and H(,2). The composition of the catalysts varied from 0%-100% of the constituents. The Cu/ZnO series showed activity for methanol production and lead to the interest in CO/H(,2) adsorption as this mixture is frequently used as syn-gas. The adsorption apparatus is described. Experiments on the decomposition of the Cu/ZnO precursors were performed and adsorption studies to determine surface area and porosity. Adsorption data was collected for temperatures between -195(DEGREES)C and 50(DEGREES)C. Two types of adsorption were observed on the Cu/ZnO samples. They were termed strong and weak according to the strength of bonding to the surface.