Advanced Infrared Spectroscopy and Imaging of Electrochemical and Chemical Reactions

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The long-term objective of this on-going research program is generation of new scientific understanding of electrochemical interfaces and reactions through the development of advanced infrared spectroscopy and imaging capabilities. Modern society requires ever increasingly efficient means to chemically store, generate and utilize electricity for anthropogenic activity. Practical applications include batteries, fuel cells, electrochemical processing and metal recovery. At the fundamental level, all of these processes involve one or more interfaces where electric fields drive electronic, molecular and ionic redistributions integral to underlying physical and chemical manipulations. Despite the importance of these interfaces, much remains unknown about the structure of the chemical species that comprise a dynamic electrochemical surface such as a solid electrode immersed in a solution. Extracting key levels of understanding requires application of in situ techniques that provide information on the molecular level. This research program seeks to both advance the sensitivity of a class of such techniques (surface enhanced vibrational spectroscopy) and exploit improved methodologies to create new knowledge of electrochemical interfaces. For example, we are exploring the fundamentals of light-matter interactions to understand how to produce interfaces capable of providing discernible signals from very small numbers of molecules using surface enhanced vibrational spectroscopy. We also use unique sources of infrared radiation generated at Canada's only synchrotron facility (the Canadian Light Source located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) to follow the fate of molecules at electrode surfaces on the time scale of 1/100,000 of a second. Our methodological advances not only spur greater capabilities for fundamental studies of electrified interfaces but also introduce improved capabilities for chemical sensing and molecular recognition.