Scanning electrochemical microscopy, for studies

B. The application of scanning electrochemical microscopy for studies of reaction kinetics... 

B. The Application of Scanning Electrochemical Microscopy for Studies of Reaction Kinetics... 

Sanchez-Sanchez CM, Vidal-Iglesias FJ, Solla-Gullon J, Montiel V, Aldaz A, Feliu JM, Herrero E (2010) Scanning electrochemical microscopy for studying electrocatalysis on shape-controlled gold nanoparticles and nanorods. Electrochim Acta 55(27) 8252-8257... 

Pierce, D. T., Unwin, P. R. and Bard, A. J. (1992), Scanning electrochemical microscopy.17. Studies of enzyme mediator kinetics for membrane-immobilized and surface-immobilized glucose-oxidase. Anal. Chem., 64(17) 1795-1804. 

Scanning electrochemical microscopy can also be applied to study localized biological activity, as desired, for example, for in-situ characterization of biosensors (59,60). In this mode, the tip is used to probe the biological generation or consumption of electroactive species, for example, the product of an enzymatic surface reaction. The utility of potentiometric (pH-selective) tips has also been... 

Such approximation is valid when the thickness of the polymeric layer is small compared to die thickness of die crystal, and the measured frequency change is small with respect to the resonant frequency of the unloaded crystal. Mass changes up to 0.05% of die crystal mass commonly meet this approximation. In die absence of molecular specificity, EQCM cannot be used for molecular-level characterization of surfaces. Electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance devices also hold promise for the task of affinity-based chemical sensing, as they allow simultaneous measurements of both tile mass and die current. The principles and capabilities of EQCM have been reviewed (67,68). The combination of EQCM widi scanning electrochemical microscopy has also been reported recently for studying die dissolution and etching of various thin films (69). The recent development of a multichannel quartz crystal microbalance (70), based on arrays of resonators, should further enhance die scope and power of EQCM. 

In scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) a microelectrode probe (tip) is used to examine solid-liquid and liquid-liquid interfaces. SECM can provide information about the chemical nature, reactivity, and topography of phase boundaries. The earlier SECM experiments employed microdisk metal electrodes as amperometric probes [29]. This limited the applicability of the SECM to studies of processes involving electroactive (i.e., either oxidizable or reducible) species. One can apply SECM to studies of processes involving electroinactive species by using potentiometric tips [36]. However, potentio-metric tips are suitable only for collection mode measurements, whereas the amperometric feedback mode has been used for most quantitative SECM applications. 

UMEs decrease the effects of non-Earadaic currents and of the iR drop. At usual timescales, diffusional transport becomes stationary after short settling times, and the enhanced mass transport leads to a decrease of reaction effects. On the other hand, in voltammetry very high scan rates (i up to 10 Vs ) become accessible, which is important for the study of very fast chemical steps. For organic reactions, minimization of the iR drop is of practical value and highly nonpolar solvents (e.g. benzene or hexane [8]) have been used with low or vanishing concentrations of supporting electrolyte. In scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM [70]), the small size of UMEs is exploited to locahze electrode processes in the gm scale. 

The first micro-ITIES were introduced in 1986, using a glass micropipette which was pulled down to a fine tip of around 25 pm to support the interface [66-71]. The smaller size of micropipettes or microcapillaries is advantageous for sensor applications, providing the possibility of studying microenvironments as living cells, and it can also be used as a probe in scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) [72]. 

The scanning tunneling microscope (STM) has led to several other variants (61). Particularly attractive for electrochemical studies is scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) (62-65). In SECM, faradaic currents at an ultramicroelectrode tip are measured while the tip is moved (by a piezoelectric controller) in close proximity to the substrate surface that is immersed in a solution containing an electroactive species (Fig. 2.17). These tip currents are a function of the conductivity and chemical nature of the substrate, as well as of the tip-substrate distance. The images thus obtained offer valuable insights into the microdistribution of the electrochemical and chemical activity, as well... 

The time range of the electrochemical measurements has been decreased considerably by using more powerful -> potentiostats, circuitry, -> microelectrodes, etc. by pulse techniques, fast -> cyclic voltammetry, -> scanning electrochemical microscopy the 10-6-10-1° s range has become available [iv,v]. The electrochemical techniques have been combined with spectroscopic ones (see -> spectroelectrochemistry) which have successfully been applied for relaxation studies [vi]. For the study of the rate of heterogeneous -> electron transfer processes the ILIT (Indirect Laser Induced Temperature) method has been developed [vi]. It applies a small temperature perturbation, e.g., of 5 K, and the change of the open-circuit potential is followed during the relaxation period. By this method a response function of the order of 1-10 ns has been achieved. 

A recent introduction of scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) to this field [16-23] has revitalized the study of ET at the OAV interface. In contrast to the conventional, four-electrode cyclic voltammetry at externally polarized OAV interfaces, the SECM measurements not necessarily require supporting electrolytes, and thus can be carried out over a wide range of driving forces without the limitation of the potential window. This advantage of SECM allowed for an experimental verification of the Marcus theory in the driving-force dependence of the ET rate constant [18,21]. 

Scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) [196] is a member of the growing family of scanning probe techniques. In SECM the tip serves as an ultramicroelectrode at which, for instance, a radical ion may be generated at very short distances from the counterelectrode under steady-state conditions. The use of SECM for the study of the kinetics of chemical reactions following the electron transfer at an electrode [196] involves the SECM in the so-... 

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