Xu Jinming, Chen Ran, Song Juanxian, Liu Songqin, Shen Yanfei, Zhang Yuanjian
Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Critical Care Medicine, Jiangsu Engineering Laboratory of Smart Carbon-Rich Materials and Device, Jiangsu Province Hi-Tech Key Laboratory for Bio-Medical Research, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southeast University Nanjing 211189 China
Chem Sci. 2025 May 13. doi: 10.1039/d5sc01854d.
To fulfill the evergrowing energy consumption demands and the pursuit of sustainable and renewable energy, electrocatalytic reactions such as the water electrocatalysis reaction, the O reduction reaction, the N reduction reaction (NRR), the CO reduction reaction (CORR), , have drawn a lot of attention. Scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) is a powerful technique for surface characterization, providing critical information about the local reactivity of electrocatalysts and unveiling key information about the reaction mechanisms, which are essential for the rational design of novel electrocatalysts. There has been a growing trend of SECM-based studies in electrocatalytic reactions, with a major focus on water splitting and O reduction reactions, and relying mostly on conventional SECM techniques. Recently, novel operation modes of SECM have emerged, adding new features to the functionality of SECM and successfully expanding the scope of SECM to other electrocatalytic reactions, , the NRR, the NO reduction reaction (NORR), the CORR and so on, as well as more complicated electrolysis systems, gas diffusion electrodes. In this perspective, we summarized recent progress in the development of novel SECM techniques and recent SECM-based research studies on the NRR, NORR, CORR, and so on, where quantitative information on the reaction mechanism and catalyst reactivity was uncovered through SECM. The development of novel SECM techniques and the application of these techniques can provide new insights into the reaction mechanisms of diverse electrocatalytic reactions as well as the characterization of electrocatalysts, facilitating the pursuit of sustainable and renewable energy.
为了满足不断增长的能源消耗需求以及对可持续和可再生能源的追求，诸如水电催化反应、氧还原反应、氮还原反应（NRR）、一氧化碳还原反应（CORR）等电催化反应已引起了广泛关注。扫描电化学显微镜（SECM）是一种用于表面表征的强大技术，它能提供有关电催化剂局部反应活性的关键信息，并揭示反应机理的关键信息，这对于新型电催化剂的合理设计至关重要。基于SECM的电催化反应研究呈增长趋势，主要集中在水分解和氧还原反应上，并且大多依赖于传统的SECM技术。最近，SECM出现了新的操作模式，为SECM的功能增添了新特性，并成功地将SECM的应用范围扩展到其他电催化反应，如NRR、一氧化氮还原反应（NORR）、CORR等，以及更复杂的电解系统，如气体扩散电极。在此视角下，我们总结了新型SECM技术发展的最新进展以及基于SECM对NRR、NORR、CORR等的近期研究，通过SECM揭示了有关反应机理和催化剂反应活性的定量信息。新型SECM技术的发展及其应用能够为各种电催化反应的反应机理以及电催化剂的表征提供新的见解，有助于对可持续和可再生能源的追求。
