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  • Review Article
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Complementary probes for the electrochemical interface

Nature Reviews Chemistry volume 8, pages 159–178 (2024)Cite this article

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Abstract

The functions of electrochemical energy conversion and storage devices rely on the dynamic junction between a solid and a fluid: the electrochemical interface (EI). Many experimental techniques have been developed to probe the EI, but they provide only a partial picture. Building a full mechanistic understanding requires combining multiple probes, either successively or simultaneously. However, such combinations lead to important technical and theoretical challenges. In this Review, we focus on complementary optoelectronic probes and modelling to address the EI across different timescales and spatial scales — including mapping surface reconstruction, reactants and reaction modulators during operation. We discuss how combining these probes can facilitate a predictive design of the EI when closely integrated with theory.

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Fig. 1: Electrochemical technologies and active regions and process at the electrochemical interface (EI).
Fig. 2: Experimental strategies to probe the electrochemical interface (EI).
Fig. 3: Individual probes for assessing the electrochemical interface (EI) in operando.
Fig. 4: Complementary probes to assess the electrochemical interface (EI).
Fig. 5: Design flow of studying the electrochemical interface (EI) using complementary experimental and theoretical probes.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the following projects for support: RED2022-134508-T, PID2021-124796OB-I00, PID2020-116093RB-C41, PID2020-116093RB-C43 and PID2020-116093RB-C44, funded by MCIN/AEI. The Institut de Ciències Fotòniques (ICFO) acknowledges CEX2019-000910-S, Fundació Cellex, Fundació Mir-Puig and the La Caixa Foundation (100010434, EU Horizon 2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement 847648). The Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ) acknowledges support from the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación through the ‘Severo Ochoa’ Excellence Accreditation CEX2021-001214-S. D.E. acknowledges funding from PID2019-108532GB-I00, PID2022-136961NB-I00, QUIMTRONIC-CM Y2018/NMT-4783, the European Union NextGenerationEU (PRTR-C17.I1) (MAD2D-CM)-MRR project, and ERC CoG 766555. IMDEA Nanoscience acknowledges support from the ‘Severo Ochoa’ Program for Centers of Excellence in R&D (CEX2020-001039-S). The Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2) acknowledges support from MCIN/AEI for CEX2021-001214-S, NextGenerationEU (PRTR-C17.I1) PID2020-116093RB-C41 and PID2020-116093RB-C43, and the Generalitat de Catalunya for 2021SGR00457 and PRTR-C17.I1. S.B. acknowledges support from the grants RYC-2017-21931 and EUR2020-112066 funded by MCIN/AEI, from ESF Investing in your future, from the European Union NextGenerationEU/PRTR, and from the Basque Government (grant IT1591-22). ICFO, ICIQ and ICN2 are funded by CERCA — Generalitat de Catalunya. Z.L. and N.L. acknowledge support from Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement number 101064867, the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (PID2021-122516OB-I00 and the ‘Severo Ochoa’ Program for Centers of Excellence CEX2019-000925-S). E.P. acknowledges the support of the CNRS and the French Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR), under grant ANR-22-CPJ2-0053-01.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CNRS, IPR (Institut de Physique de Rennes), University of Rennes, Rennes, France

    Ernest Pastor

  2. CNRS, Univ Rennes, DYNACOM (Dynamical Control of Materials Laboratory) - IRL2015, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

    Ernest Pastor

  3. ICIQ–Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Tarragona, Spain

    Zan Lian, José Ramón Galán-Mascarós & Núria López

  4. ICFO–Institut de Ciències Fotòniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain

    Lu Xia & F. Pelayo García de Arquer

  5. IMDEA Nanoscience, Campus Universitario de Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain

    David Ecija

  6. ICREA, Barcelona, Spain

    José Ramón Galán-Mascarós & Jordi Arbiol

  7. Department of Polymers and Advanced Materials, Centro de Física de Materiales (CFM), University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, San Sebastián, Spain

    Sara Barja

  8. Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC), San Sebastián, Spain

    Sara Barja

  9. IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, Bilbao, Spain

    Sara Barja

  10. Institute of Advanced Materials (INAM) Universitat Jaume I, Castelló, Spain

    Sixto Giménez

  11. Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2), CSIC and BIST, Campus UAB, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

    Jordi Arbiol

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E.P. and F.P.G.d.A. conceived the initial idea and led article preparation. All authors contributed to the writing and editing of this manuscript.

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Pastor, E., Lian, Z., Xia, L. et al. Complementary probes for the electrochemical interface. Nat Rev Chem 8, 159–178 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41570-024-00575-5

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