atomic force microscop coupled with Raman spectrometer (Raman-AFM)

拉曼原子力显微镜是一种最先进的研究仪器，它以独特的方式结合了表面敏感技术，即原子力显微镜(AFM)和拉曼光谱。本文提出的拉曼原子力显微镜可以在纳米尺度上研究电极材料和复合材料的表面化学和表面结构的共局域化信息。我们希望利用拉曼原子力显微镜对电催化过程进行基本的了解。一般情况下，电化学反应发生在电解液和电极表面的界面上。使用拉曼-原子力显微镜能够检测吸附在电极表面的物种或电极表面的化学和形态变化，例如，金属氧化物的阴极还原，作为施加电位的函数。另一方面，电导AFM测量可以将电极表面的形貌信息与离聚体的空间分布关联起来，这对燃料电池的催化性能和电解性能有很大影响。我们的目标是将电极材料或复合材料的空间表面属性与燃料电池或电解的操作条件联系起来。当然，到目前为止，这两种表面敏感技术的独特和先进组合为我们提供了对材料和催化性能的更深层次的了解。由于其高度的复杂性和巨大的技术工作量，拉曼原子力显微镜在今天的S电催化领域很少使用。需要进一步开发和使用这种先进组合的方法来详细探索电解液/电极界面的表面化学和表面结构。我们的调查显示了几家公司及其将电催化领域的空间和化学研究技术结合在一起的方法。

Raman-AFM is a state-of-the-art research instrument which combines both surface-sensitive techniques, namely atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Raman spectroscopy in a unique manner. The here proposed Raman-AFM allows investigating co-localized information of surface chemistry and surface structure of electrode materials and composites on the nano scale. We want to employ the Raman-AFM for fundamental understanding of electrocatalytic processes. Generally, electrochemical reactions occur at the interface between electrolyte and electrode surface. The use of Raman-AFM enables to detect adsorbed surface species or chemical and morphological changes of the electrode surface, e.g. cathodic reduction of metal oxides, as a function of the potential applied. On the other hand, conductive AFM measurements can be applied to correlate the topographic information of the electrode surface with the spatial distribution of ionomers, which strongly influences the catalytic performance in a fuel cell and electrolysis. Our aim is to link the spatial surface properties of the electrode materials or composites with the operating conditions of a fuel cell or electrolysis. Definitely, this unique and advanced combination of both surface-sensitive techniques provides deeper insights into the material and catalytic properties so far. Raman-AFM is rarely used in the today´s electrocatalysis community due to its high complexity and large technical efforts. Further development and methods for the use of this advanced combination is required to explore the surface chemistry and surface structure at the electrolyte/electrode interface in detail. Our inquires show several companies and their approaches to combine both techniques for spatial and chemical investigations in field of electrocatalysis.