Electron transfer and phase transfer processes occurring at three-phase interfaces, where one phase is the electrode, are fundamentally important in many electrochemical energy conversion/storage technologies. For example, rapid electron transfer at the gas/electrolyte/electrode three-phase boundary has been proposed as a key factor in constructing high-efficiency fuel cells. While measurement of these processes is of undoubted interest, it poses an analytical challenge, due to the one-dimensional nature of the interface, which can be idealized as a line.<br/>In this talk, I will describe the development of nanoscale electrochemical measurements of coupled phase-transfer/electron-transfer at three-phase interfaces. In one measurement system, an electrochemically generated-gas at a nanoelectrode forms a single nanobubble. The nanobubble is sustained by the balance between gas dissolution at the gas/liquid interface and the supply of gas species electrochemically produced at the gas/liquid/electrode interface. From electrochemical measurements of this model system, we quantify electron-transfer/phase-transfer kinetics at the three-phase interface. Time permitting, I will describe a second system to measure coupled electron-transfer/phase-transfer at a liquid/liquid/electrode boundary.

Electrochemistry at the three-phase interface

256th National Meeting (2018)

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