Emerging Optical Microscopy Techniques for Electrochemistry

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent advances in optical microscopy techniques that enable high-resolution, real-time visualization of electrochemical processes, highlighting their potential for detailed analysis at the nanoscale in practical applications.

Contribution

It summarizes the progress and potential of advanced optical microscopy and plasmonics in electrochemistry, emphasizing their ability to visualize processes at the single molecule or nanoparticle level.

Findings

High spatial and temporal resolution imaging of electrochemical processes.

Visualization of single nanoparticles and molecules during electrochemical reactions.

Shift from model systems to real-world electrochemical applications.

Abstract

An optical microscope is probably the most intuitive, simple and commonly used instrument to observe objects and discuss behaviors through images. Although the idea of imaging electrochemical processes operando by optical microscopy was initiated 40 years ago, it was not until significant progress made in the last two decades in advanced optical microscopy or plasmonics that it could become a mainstream electroanalytical strategy. This review illustrates the potential of different optical microscopies to visualize and quantify local electrochemical processes with unprecedented temporal and spatial resolution (below the diffraction limit), up to the single object level with subnanoparticle or single molecule sensitivity. Developed through optically and electrochemically active model systems, optical microscopy is now shifting to materials and configurations focused on real-world electrochemical applications.