Shearforce positioning of nanoprobe electrode arrays for scanning electrochemical microscopy experiments

Operando Scanning Electrochemical Probe Microscopy during Electrocatalysis

Scanning electrochemical probe microscopy (SEPM) techniques can disclose the local electrochemical reactivity of interfaces in single-entity and sub-entity studies. Operando SEPM measurements consist of using a SEPM tip to investigate the performance of electrocatalysts, while the reactivity of the interface is simultaneously modulated. This powerful combination can correlate electrochemical activity with changes in surface properties, e.g., topography and structure, as well as provide insight into reaction mechanisms. The focus of this review is to reveal the recent progress in local SEPM measurements of the catalytic activity of a surface toward the reduction and evolution of O₂ and H₂ and electrochemical conversion of CO₂. The capabilities of SEPMs are showcased, and the possibility of coupling other techniques to SEPMs is presented. Emphasis is given to scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM), scanning ion conductance microscopy (SICM), electrochemical scanning tunneling microscopy (EC-STM), and scanning electrochemical cell microscopy (SECCM).

Nanoimpacts at Active and Partially Active Electrodes: Insights and Limitations

While the electrochemical nanoimpact technique has recently emerged as a method of studying single entities, it is limited by requirement of a catalytically active particle impacting an inert electrode. We show that an active particle-active electrode can provide mechanistic insight into electrochemical reactions. When an individual Pt electrocatalyst adsorbs to the surface of a partially active electrode, further reduction of electrode-produced species can proceed on the nanocatalyst. Current transients obtained during hydrogen evolution allow simultaneous measurement of the Pt catalyst over different length scales, size dependency suggests H atom intercalation as a catalytic deactivation mechanism. Although results show that outer-sphere redox probes are unproductive for particle characterization, the breadth of inner-sphere electrochemical reactions makes this a promising method for understanding the properties of catalytic nanomaterials, one at a time.

The promise of antireflective gold electrodes for optically monitoring the electro-deposition of single silver nanoparticles

Combined to electrochemical actuation, it allows the dynamic in situ visualization of the electrochemical growth and dissolution of individual Ag nanoparticles.

Electrochemical transformation of individual nanoparticles revealed by coupling microscopy and spectroscopy

Although extremely sensitive, electrical measurements are essentially unable to discriminate complex chemical events involving individual nanoparticles. The coupling of electrochemistry to dark field imaging and spectroscopy allows the triggering of the electrodissolution of an ensemble of Ag nanoparticles (by electrochemistry) and the inference of both oxidation and dissolution processes (by spectroscopy) at the level of a single nanoparticle. Besides the inspection of the dissolution process from optical scattering intensity, adding optical spectroscopy reveals chemical changes through drastic spectral changes. The behaviours of single NPs and NP agglomerates are differentiated: in the presence of thiocyanate ions, the transformation of Ag single nanoparticles to AgSCN is investigated in the context of plasmonic coupling with the electrode; tentative interpretations for optically unresolved groups of nanoparticles are proposed.