The electrooxidation of CO: a test reaction in electrocatalysis

This review paper aims to show how the electrochemical behaviour of CO plays a key role in the understanding of the reaction mechanism of many electrocatalytic oxidations of small organic molecules. For that purpose, the adsorption of CO on noble metal electrodes, eventually modified by foreign metal adatoms, is reviewed, taking into account both experimental (electrochemical and spectroscopic techniques) and theoretical (Extended Hückel Model) approaches. Data from the gas phase—solid metal interface are also considered.