扫描电化学显微镜在电催化表面反应分析中的现代应用

能源和环境问题成为制约未来可持续发展的关键问题之一,因此,针对不同电催化反应设计电催化剂变得越来越重要.电催化剂因其能量效率高、制备简单和易操作等优点,而应用于可再生能源的相关反应(如水分解和人工光合作用)中.明确不同反应电催化剂的设计原理,深入理解其在相关反应中的催化机理,可进一步优化催化剂性能.本文综述了扫描电化学显微镜(SECM)应用于电催化反应的历程、关键方法以及一些代表性的工作,阐明了电催化剂的工作机理以推进电催化剂的设计.本文还介绍了为提高SECM的空间分辨率而尝试的纳米尺寸电极方面的新进展,分享了纳米电极在以前研究无法涉及的单一催化实体方面的应用.

Modern applications of scanning electrochemical microscopy in the analysis of electrocatalytic surface reactions

Development of reaction-tailored electrocatalysts is becoming increasingly important as energy and environment are among key issues governing our sustainable future. Electrocatalysts are inherently optimized for application towards reactions of interest in renewable energy, such as those involved in water splitting and artificial photosynthesis, owing to its energy efficiency, simple fabrication, and ease of operation. In this view, it is important to secure logical design principles for the synthesis of electrocatalysts for various reactions of interest, and also understand their catalytic mechanisms in the respective reactions for improvements in further iterations. In this review, we introduce several key methods of scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) in its applications towards electroca-talysis. A brief history and a handful of seminal works in the SECM field is introduced in advancing the synthetic designs of electrocatalysts and elucidation of the operating mechanism. New devel-opments in nano-sizing of the electrodes in attempts for improved spatial resolution of SECM is also introduced, and the application of nanoelectrodes towards the investigation of formerly inaccessible single catalytic entities is shared.