Nanogap Electrochemistry of Clean Graphitic Surfaces

本项目由美国国家科学基金化学分部化学测量与成像项目资助。匹兹堡大学的Shigeru Amemiya教授正在开发新的实验策略，以测量传统碳材料和新兴碳纳米材料的清洁石墨表面的高电化学反应性。一种简单的方法，以保持清洁的石墨表面在研究实验室，以及在工业环境中，大规模生产的碳电极是很重要的。清洁的石墨表面可以提高广泛用于燃料电池、电池、太阳能电池和超级电容器的低成本碳电极的性能。此外，本科生，女学生和来自代表性不足群体的学生被招募并通过各种纳米电化学研究活动进行培训。其他活动包括工业合作，以及为本科生实验室实施纳米电化学实验。本项目的重点是清洁石墨表面的电化学研究，以便对碳电化学有更深入的了解和更好的未来应用。在Amemiya实验室开发的新技术相结合，使第一个明确清洁石墨表面的反应性测量成为可能。具体来说，通过在加湿的空气中凝结一层纳米厚的水，清洁的石墨表面免受空气中的疏水性污染物的侵害。表面保持在含有极低浓度有机杂质的电解质溶液中。利用纳米间隙伏安法和扫描电化学显微镜，定量、可靠地测量了受水保护的清洁石墨表面的超快电子转移动力学。

This project is funded by the Chemical Measurement and Imaging program of the Chemistry Division of the National Science Foundation. Professor Shigeru Amemiya of the University of Pittsburgh is developing new experimental strategies to measure the high electrochemical reactivity of clean graphitic surfaces of traditional carbon materials and emerging carbon nanomaterials. A simple approach is developed to maintain clean graphitic surfaces in the research laboratory as well as in industrial settings where the mass production of carbon electrodes is important. Clean graphitic surfaces may improve the performance of the low-cost carbon electrodes that are widely used for fuel cells, batteries, solar cells, and supercapacitors. In addition, undergraduate students, female students, and students from underrepresented groups are recruited and trained through various nanoelectrochemical research activities. Other activities include industrial collaborations, and the implementation of nanoelectrochemistry experiments for the undergraduate laboratory.This project is focused on the electrochemical study of clean graphitic surfaces for a greater fundamental understanding and better future applications of carbon electrochemistry. New technologies developed in the Amemiya laboratory are combined to enable the first reactivity measurement of unambiguously clean graphitic surfaces. Specifically, the clean graphitic surface is protected from airborne hydrophobic contaminants by condensing a nanometer-thick adlayer of water on the surfaces in humidified air. The surface is maintained in electrolyte solutions containing extremely low concentrations of organic impurities. The ultrafast electron-transfer kinetics of water-protected clean graphitic surfaces are then measured quantitatively and reliably by employing nanogap voltammetry and scanning electrochemical microscopy.