Single-Molecule Imaging of the Electrode/Solution Interface

能源和环境领域的许多电化学反应都会导致电极表面形成气体。这些反应包括从水的“分裂”促进氢气和氧气的形成，燃料电池中甲醇和乙醇的氧化，以及电池中的充电和放电事件。尽管它们的重要性，小气泡在电极上的启动和生长仍然知之甚少，由于缺乏适当的分析工具成像纳米气泡。为了应对这一挑战，华盛顿大学的Bo Zhang教授的实验室开发了一种基于荧光的电化学方法，以成像纳米气泡如何以及何时在电极/溶液界面形成。这种方法的使用有可能促进能源和环境研究中许多电化学反应的更便宜和更有效的促进剂（催化剂）的开发。这项工作为研究生、本科生和高中生提供了一系列综合教育活动和独特的培训机会，让他们学习电化学和显微镜的前沿研究。有了这个奖项，化学测量和成像计划将资助华盛顿大学的张博博士开发一种新的电分析方法，研究电极/溶液界面处气体纳米气泡的成核和生长。通过单分子标记和荧光成像电极上的单个纳米气泡，这种方法产生空间和时间分辨的信息，在电极上的气体析出过程，否则无法使用许多其他成像技术，如扫描探针为基础的电化学显微镜。绘制纳米气泡分布图的能力可以提供有关电极表面催化异质性的独特信息，这将有助于理解和设计新的更好的催化材料。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来支持。

Many electrochemical reactions in the energy and environmental fields result in formation of gases at electrode surfaces. These reactions include facilitated formation of hydrogen and oxygen gases from the "splitting" of water, oxidation of methyl and ethyl alcohol in fuel cells, and charging and discharging events in batteries. Despite their importance, the initiation and growth of small gas bubbles on an electrode remain poorly understood due to a lack of proper analysis tools for imaging nanobubbles. To address this challenge, Professor Bo Zhang's laboratory at the University of Washington develops a fluorescence-based electrochemical method to image how and when gas nanobubbles are formed at the electrode/solution interface. The use of this method has the potential to promote the development of cheaper and more efficient facilitators (catalysts) for numerous electrochemical reactions in energy and environmental research. This work provides a set of integrated educational activities and a unique training opportunity for graduate, undergraduate, and high-school students to learn cutting-edge research in electrochemistry and microscopy.With this award, the Chemical Measurement and Imaging Program is funding Dr. Bo Zhang at the University of Washington to develop a new electroanalytical method to study nucleation and growth of gas nanobubbles at the electrode/solution interface. By single-molecule labeling and fluorescently imaging single nanobubbles on an electrode, this method yields spatially and temporally-resolved information about gas evolution processes on electrodes that is otherwise unobtainable using many other imaging techniques, such as scanning probe-based electrochemical microscopies. The ability to map nanobubble distribution may provide unique information about catalytic heterogeneity of electrode surfaces, which will help to understand and design new and better catalytic materials.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.