Nanoelectrochemistry for single-droplet analysis and applications

Abstract

In nanoelectrochemistry, a single-droplet serves as a reaction system that can elucidate the hydrodynamic behavior and electrokinetics of ion/redox species at an electrode surface. Recently, studies have analyzed stochastic collisions of different types of single droplets at various interfaces, which can suggest the mechanism of the electrochemical collisions and reveal characteristics of the chemical/electrochemical reactions at the molecular level. Based on this information, droplet nanoelectrochemistry can be applied for fine tuning of metal nanoparticle synthesis with controllable particle size, composition, and shape to obtain high catalytic activity. Droplet nanoelectrochemistry can be combined with an optical methodology to offer real-time images, electrochemical data of single-droplet collisions, and the resultants of chemical/electrochemical reactions. This review covers recent nanoelectrochemical research of single droplets that provide fundamental information regarding chemical/electrochemical reactions with various materials and interfaces and the resulting applications. © 2022 Elsevier B.V.