Cathodic electroorganic reaction on silicon oxide dielectric electrode.

Shin, Samuel J; Park, Sangmee; Lee, Jin-Young; Lee, Jae Gyeong; Yun, Jeongse; Hwang, Dae-Woong; Chung, Taek Dong · Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A · 2020

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

The faradaic reaction at the insulator is counterintuitive. For this reason, electroorganic reactions at the dielectric layer have been scarcely investigated despite their interesting aspects and opportunities. In particular, the cathodic reaction at a silicon oxide surface under a negative potential bias remains unexplored. In this study, we utilize defective 200-nm-thick n<sup>+</sup>-Si/SiO<sub>2</sub> as a dielectric electrode for electrolysis in an H-type divided cell to demonstrate the cathodic electroorganic reaction of anthracene and its derivatives. Intriguingly, the <i>oxidized</i> products are generated at the <i>cathode</i> The experiments under various conditions provide consistent evidence supporting that the electrochemically generated hydrogen species, supposedly the hydrogen atom, is responsible for this phenomenon. The electrogenerated hydrogen species at the dielectric layer suggests a synthetic strategy for organic molecules.