Optically transparent conductive glass electrode

In a typical spectroelectrochemical measurement, an optically transparent electrode (OTE) is used and the UV/vis absorption spectrum (or absorbance) of the substance participating in the reaction is measured. Various types of OTE exist, for example (i) a plate (glass, quartz or plastic) coated either with an optically transparent vapor-deposited metal (Pt or Au) film or with an optically transparent conductive tin oxide film (Fig. 5.26), and (ii) a fine micromesh (40-800 wires/cm) of electrically conductive material (Pt or Au). The electrochemical cell may be either a thin-layer cell with a solution-layer thickness of less than 0.2 mm (Fig. 9.2(a)) or a cell with a solution layer of conventional thickness ( 1 cm, Fig. 9.2(b)). The advantage of the thin-layer cell is that the electrolysis is complete within a short time ( 30 s). On the other hand, the cell with conventional solution thickness has the advantage that mass transport in the solution near the electrode surface can be treated mathematically by the theory of semi-infinite linear diffusion. 

Figure 33.1a illustrates the idea of the smart window. In this device a layer of electrochromic material and a layer of a transparent ion-conducting electrolyte are sandwiched between two optically transparent electrodes (OTEs). Indium-doped tin oxide on glass is used most commonly as the OTE. This material has very low... 

The development of electrodes that exhibit optical transparency has enabled spectral observations to be made directly through the electrode simultaneously with electrochemical perturbations [19-21]. These electrodes typically consist of a very thin film of conductive material such as Pt, Au, carbon, or a semiconductor such as doped tin oxide that is deposited on a glass or quartz substrate. Miniature metal screens, minigrid electrodes in which the presence of very small holes (6-40 fim) lends transparency, have also been used. Optically transparent electrodes (OTE) and the cells that incorporate them are discussed in Chapters 9 and 11. 

Fig. II.6.5 An improved in situ UVA is/NIR spectroelectrochemical cell design with an optically transparent electrode prepared from top a glass substrate coated by a thin conductive optically transparent ITO layer and bottom a metal mesh, grid, or gauze...

In many spectroelectrochemical studies, optically transparent electrodes, which are transparent to radiation in a particular spectral region, have been widely used. One type of transparent electrode consists of a very thin film of conductive material such as platinum, gold, tin oxide, indium oxide, or carbon, which is deposited on a transparent substrate such as glass (visible), quartz (UV-visible), or germanium (IR). A second type of transparent electrode is the minigrid electrode. 

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