Insights into Electrochemical Reactions from Ambient Pressure Photoelectron Spectroscopy

Abstract

The understanding of fundamental processes in the bulk and at the interfaces of electrochemical devices is a prerequisite for the development of new technologies with higher efficiency and improved performance. One energy storage scheme of great interest is splitting water to form hydrogen and oxygen gas and converting back to electrical energy by their subsequent recombination with only water as a byproduct. However, kinetic limitations to the rate of oxygen-based electrochemical reactions hamper the efficiency in technologies such as solar fuels, fuel cells, and electrolyzers. For these reactions, the use of metal oxides as electrocatalysts is prevalent due to their stability, low cost, and ability to store oxygen within the lattice. However, due to the inherently convoluted nature of electrochemical and chemical processes in electrochemical systems, it is difficult to isolate and study individual electrochemical processes in a complex system. Therefore, in situ characterization tools are required for observing related physical and chemical processes directly at the places where and while they occur and can help elucidate the mechanisms of charge separation and charge transfer at electrochemical interfaces.