Low temperature liquid-phase electrochemistry at ceramic superconductor electrodes

Since the discovery of copper oxide based superconductors in 1986 the authors' group has been interested in characterizing the electrochemical behavior of these interesting materials. The development of a liquid phase electrolyte which freezes below 100 K allows them to perform electrochemistry at electrodes which are in the superconducting state. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy has been used to probe the electrical double-layer capacitance at the interface between a high temperature superconductor electrode and the electrolyte solution at low temperatures. Impedance measurements Tl2Ba2Ca2Cu3O10 electrodes (Tc ca. 112 K) have been made at temperatures as low as 109 K. These measurements represent the first sub-Tc measurements on a superconducting electrode in a liquid electrolyte