Reconstruction of Cu(100) Electrode Surfaces during Hydrogen Evolution

Electrochemical hydrogen evolution on (100)-oriented copper electrodes is shown to induce a novel surface reconstruction, which substantially influences the rates of this electrochemical reaction. As revealed by in situ video-STM the formation of this phase starts with lateral displacements of Cu surface atoms from lattice positions, resulting in stripe-like structures, followed by expansion of the surface lattice along the stripe direction.