Spatially Resolved ATR-FTIRS Study of the Formation of Macroscopic Domains and Microislands during CO Electrooxidation on Pt

Oscillations in an array of bistable microelectrodes coupled through a globally conserved quantity

The dynamical behavior of an array of microelectrodes is investigated under controlled current conditions during CO electrooxidation, a bistable electrochemical reaction with an S-shaped negative differential resistance (S-NDR) current-potential curve. Under these conditions, the total current constitutes a globally conserved quantity, thus coupling all microelectrodes globally. Upon increasing the total current, the microelectrodes activate one by one, with a single microelectrode being on its intermediate S-NDR current branch and the other ones being either on their passive or their active branches. When a few coupled microelectrodes are activated, the electrochemical system exhibits spontaneous potential oscillations. Mathematical analysis shows that oscillations arise already in a two group approximation of the dynamics, the two groups consisting of 1 electrode and n - 1 electrodes with n ≥ 3, respectively, with each group being described by a single evolution equation. In this minimal representation, oscillations occur when the single electrode is on the intermediate branch and the larger group is on the active branch.

Beyond Simple Cartoons: Challenges in Characterizing Electrochemical Biosensor Interfaces

Design and development of surface-based biosensors is challenging given the multidisciplinary nature of this enterprise, which is certainly the case for electrochemical biosensors. Self-assembly approaches are used to modify the surface with capture probes along with electrochemical methods for detection. Complex surface structures are created to improve the probe-target interaction. These multicomponent surface structures are usually idealized in schematic representations. Many rely on the analytical performance of the sensor surface as an indication of the quality of the surface modification strategy. While directly linked to the eventual device, arguments for pursuing a more extensive characterization of the molecular environments at the surface are presented as a path to understanding how to make electrochemical sensors that are more robust, reliable with improved sensitivity. This is a complex task that is most often accomplished using methods that only report the average characteristics of the surface. Less often applied are methods that are sensitive to the probe (or adsorbate) present in nonideal configurations (e.g., aggregates, clusters, nonspecifically adsorbed). Though these structures may compose a small fraction of the overall modified surface, they have an uncertain impact on sensor performance and reliability. Addressing this issue requires application of imaging methods over a variety of length scales (e.g., optical microscopy and/or scanning probe microscopy) that provide valuable insight into the diversity of surface structures and molecular environments present at the sensing interface. Furthermore, using in situ analytical methods, while complex, can be more relevant to the sensing environment. Reliable measurements of the nature and extent of these features are required to assess the impact of these nonideal configurations on the sensing process. The development and use of methods that can characterize complex surface based biosensors is arguably required, highlighting the need for a multidisciplinary approach toward the preparation and analysis of the biosensor surface. In many ways, representing the surface without reliance on overly simplified cartoons will highlight these important considerations for improving sensor characteristics.

1/f 2 noise in bistable electrocatalytic reactions on mesoscale electrodes

The formation of a self-organized spatial domain during current-controlled CO oxidation, a kinetically bistable reaction, is investigated experimentally and by deterministic simulations as a function of the electrode size and of the supporting electrolyte concentration. Decreasing the microelectrode size leads to the suppression of the spatial instability at the electrode and thus stabilizes the S-NDR branch of the reaction. The critical microelectrode size capable of supporting sustained domain formation is shown to be strongly affected by the sulfuric acid concentration, the characteristic time of the positive feedback loop increasing with the sulfate concentration. Furthermore, we demonstrate that for microelectrode diameters close to the instability threshold, small amplitude electrochemical potential fluctuations appear in the system. These potential fluctuations cannot be captured by deterministic mathematical models and are attributed to a strong enhancement of molecular fluctuations or intrinsic noise in the vicinity of the spatial instability. Analysis of the electrochemical noise revealed a 1/f ² frequency dependence and several common features with neuronal shot noise.

Dissipative solitons and backfiring in the electrooxidation of CO on Pt

Collisions of excitation pulses in dissipative systems lead usually to their annihilation. In this paper, we report electrochemical experiments exhibiting more complex pulse interaction with collision survival and pulse splitting, phenomena that have rarely been observed experimentally and are only poorly understood theoretically. Using spatially resolved in-situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) in the attenuated total reflection configuration, we monitored reaction pulses during the electrochemical oxidation of CO on Pt thin film electrodes in a flow cell. The system forms quasi-1d pulses that align parallel to the flow and propagate perpendicular to it. The pulses split once in a while, generating a second solitary wave in the backward moving direction. Upon collision, the waves penetrate each other in a soliton-like manner. These unusual pulse dynamics could be reproduced with a 3-component reaction-diffusion-migration model with two inhibitor species, one of them exhibiting a long-range spatial coupling. The simulations shed light on existence criteria of such dissipative solitons.

Experimental assessment of the sensitiveness of an electrochemical oscillator towards chemical perturbations

In this study we address the problem of the response of a (electro)chemical oscillator towards chemical perturbations of different magnitudes. The chemical perturbation was achieved by addition of distinct amounts of trifluoromethanesulfonate (TFMSA), a rather stable and non-specifically adsorbing anion, and the system under investigation was the methanol electro-oxidation reaction under both stationary and oscillatory regimes. Increasing the anion concentration resulted in a decrease in the reaction rates of methanol oxidation and a general decrease in the parameter window where oscillations occurred. Furthermore, the addition of TFMSA was found to decrease the induction period and the total duration of oscillations. The mechanism underlying these observations was derived mathematically and revealed that inhibition in the methanol oxidation through blockage of active sites was found to further accelerate the intrinsic non-stationarity of the unperturbed system. Altogether, the presented results are among the few concerning the experimental assessment of the sensitiveness of an oscillator towards chemical perturbations. The universal nature of the complex chemical oscillator investigated here might be used for reference when studying the dynamics of other less accessible perturbed networks of (bio)chemical reactions.