A collector-generator cell for in-situ detection of electrochemically produced H₂

A collector-generator (C-G) cell used for the in-situ detection of H₂ generated through electrochemical catalysis was described. The cell was mainly assembled with two fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) electrodes deposited with Pt nanoparticles, the magnitude of the current generated by the electrocatalytic oxidation of H₂ at the collector was used for quantitative analysis of H₂ generated at the generator. When the generator potential was set at -0.5 ∼ -0.6 V vs. Ag/AgCl and the collector potential at 0.4 ∼ 0.5 V vs. Ag/AgCl, the total Faradaic efficiency of the C-G cell could stabilize about 70%, the detection limit was about 45 μmol/L and the sensitivity was about 1 mA/55 μmol L^-1. This dual working electrode technology could provide a convenient and rapid method for H₂ determination and evaluate the performance of H₂ generation catalysts that assembled on the semiconductor thin-films.