Multimode Scanning Electrochemical Microscopy

Distinct from other scanning probe microscopies (SPM) such as scanning tunnel microscopy (STM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning kelvin probe microscopy (SKPM) and so forth, scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) provides the localized chemical reaction activity of the substrate by employing a microelectrode or nanoelectrode as the scanning probe. However, the electric signals (current, potential and impedance) obtained by SECM can not provide the imformation of molecular reaction mechanism, and the correlation between the electrochemical performances and physicochemical properties of electrode material. Thus, it is necessary to develop multimode scanning electrochemical microscopy to obtain the comprehensive information of the same site under the same electrochemical operando conditions, in order to discover the properties-performance (P-P) correlations of electroactive meterials. Thus, we integrated the multi-functions of STM, AFM, SKPM together with SECM, and also developed a novel scanning contact force microscopy (SCFM) making SECM more powerful in electrochemical imaging and micro/nano-fabrications. In this presentation, we will introduce our work on instrumental developments and also some application in both fundamentals and applications of electrochemistry.