High-Efficiency Generation-Collection Microelectrochemical Platform for Interrogating Electroactive Thin Films

Automated Measurement of Electrogenerated Redox Species Degradation Using Multiplexed Interdigitated Electrode Arrays

Characterizing the decomposition of electrogenerated species in solution is essential for applications involving electrosynthesis, homogeneous electrocatalysis, and energy storage with redox flow batteries. In this work, we present an automated, multiplexed, and highly robust platform for determining the rate constant of chemical reaction steps following electron transfer, known as the EC mechanism. We developed a generation-collection methodology based on microfabricated interdigitated electrode arrays (IDAs) with variable gap widths on a single device. Using a combination of finite-element simulations and statistical analysis of experimental data, our results show that the natural logarithm of collection efficiency is linear with respect to gap width, and this quantitative analysis is used to determine the decomposition rate constant of the electrogenerated species (k _c). The integrated IDA method is used in a series of experiments to measure k _c values between ∼0.01 and 100 s^-1 in aqueous and nonaqueous solvents and at concentrations as high as 0.5 M of the redox-active species, conditions that are challenging to address using standard methods based on conventional macroelectrodes. The versatility of our approach allows for characterization of a wide range of reactions including intermolecular cyclization, hydrolysis, and the decomposition of candidate molecules for redox flow batteries at variable concentration and water content. Overall, this new experimental platform presents a straightforward automated method to assess the degradation of redox species in solution with sufficient flexibility to enable high-throughput workflows.

Quasi-One-Dimensional Generator-Collector Electrochemistry in Nanochannels

Mass transport in fluidic channels under conditions of pressure-driven flow is controlled by a combination of convection and diffusion. For electrochemical measurements the height of a channel is typically of the same order of magnitude as the electrode dimensions, resulting in complex two- or three- dimensional concentration distributions. Electrochemical nanofluidic devices, however, can have such a low height-to-length ratio that they can effectively be considered as one-dimensional. This greatly simplifies the modeling and quantitative interpretation of analytical measurements. Here we study mass transport in nanochannels using electrodes in a generator-collector configuration. The flux of redox molecules is monitored amperometrically. We observe the transition from diffusion-dominated to convection-dominated transport by varying both the flow velocity and the distance between the electrodes. These results are described quantitatively by the one-dimensional Nernst–Planck equation for mass transport over the full range of experimentally accessible parameters.

Microfluidic Surface Titrations of Electroactive Thin Films

We report the use of microfluidic surface titrations (MSTs) for studying electroactive self-assembled monolayers (eSAMs) and other thin films. The technique of MST utilizes a microfluidic generation-collection dual channel electrode (DCE) configuration to quantify the charge associated with electroactive thin films that might or might not be in direct contact with an electrode surface. This technique allows for quantitative measurement of surface coverages, Γ, as low as 30 pmol cm^-2 for electrodeposited Cu thin films. Additionally, we show that it is possible to quantify Γ for ferrocene (Fc)-terminated alkylthiols in mixed-monolayer eSAMs. Interestingly, MSTs sometimes reveal a two-fold higher eSAM concentration compared to direct electrochemical measurements. This finding suggests that in these instances not all the constituent Fc-moieties of the eSAM are in sufficiently close proximity to the surface to be addressable via direct electrochemistry.

Feedback-amplified electrochemical dual-plate boron-doped diamond microtrench detector for flow injection analysis

An electrochemical flow cell with a boron‐doped diamond dual‐plate microtrench electrode has been developed and demonstrated for hydroquinone flow injection electroanalysis in phosphate buffer pH 7. Using the electrochemical generator‐collector feedback detector improves the sensitivity by one order of magnitude (when compared to a single working electrode detector). The diffusion process is switched from an analyte consuming “external” process to an analyte regenerating “internal” process with benefits in selectivity and sensitivity.