Current Opinion in Electrochemistry最新文献

This review delves into the many methods by which the specific affinity interaction between antigens and antibodies can be converted into a measurable signal. It provides a synoptic overview of the latest innovations in the realm of electrochemical immunosensor development, with a focus on the diverse technologies and strategies aimed at enhancing analytical signals and detecting ultra-low concentrations of biomarkers. The most important trends in developing multiplexed, non-invasive, or attachable immunosensors and Point-of-Care Testing platforms leveraging various nanomaterials are discussed. Furthermore, global trends in label-free and labelled electrochemical immunosensors are reviewed, taking into account the evolving requirements of patients.

Despite the apparent simplicity of collision electrochemistry, recent studies have demonstrated that the transient responses often exhibit a high degree of complexity. This complexity originates either from a temporal evolution of the current transient or from the combination of distinct processes occurring simultaneously. Unraveling these current blips and their progression over time allowed revealing various processes such as growth, morphology transformation, complex electrocatalytic mechanisms, and simultaneous reactions at the single-entity level. However, this level of complexity might lead to misinterpretation if the interfacial interactions are not properly understood. In this review, we summarize the recent studies aiming at investigating operando the evolution of colloidal solutions and resolving concomitant processes by collision electrochemistry. Next, we discuss studies that report the role of interfacial interactions that could possibly blur the observation of such complex events. To this end, we particularly highlight the advantages of correlative approaches to collect crucial complementary information.

The continuous decline of fossil fuel reserves calls attention and deserves proper accordance. Lithium-sulfur battery (LSB) is one of the candidates to be an effective and efficient energy storage device. Commercializing LSBs has been challenging despite remarkable breakthroughs from research on coin cell formats. These developments in cathode, electrolyte, separator, and lithium metal anode protection have seen an indirect relationship when used in pouch cell format. This mini-review highlights the recent failure mechanism studies performed on LSB pouch cells to provide a better understanding of the components that require careful attention in terms of optimization and modification aspects. Appropriate electrolyte components and robust design of separators are the necessary components of the LSB pouch cells that significantly affect the cycling life and electrochemical performance. Scaling up to pouch cell format requires a holistic modification and optimization of battery components.

Industrially ammonia (NH₃) is produced from the energy-intensive Haber-Bosch (HB) process. Electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (eNRR) is often hailed as a possible alternative to the HB process, as it has lower energy requirements and can reduce N₂ to NH₃ at ambient conditions. In this review, 50 catalysts for eNRR synthesised within the last three years are judged based on the energy economics and yield rate, to determine if they could be a suitable alternative to the HB process.

Ion mobility in electrolytes and electrodes is a critical factor influencing the performance of batteries. Low ion mobility is, for example, one of the major factors reducing the range of battery-electric vehicles in winter. On the other hand, with respect to the ion mobility in battery cathode materials, there are scaling relations linking large insertion energies and thus high voltages with high migration barriers corresponding to low ion mobility. Consequently, a compromise has to be made between these two conflicting properties. In this opinion, we will address how computational screening and the identification of descriptors can accelerate the search for solid battery materials with improved ion migration properties, but we will also discuss how the scaling relations linking reaction and activation energies might be overcome.

CO₂ reduction to fuels using solid oxide electrodes is a promising approach due to high faradaic and energy efficiencies. CO₂ reducing electrodes (cathodes) form the central challenge in enabling solid oxide technology for CO₂ electrolysis. Typical cathodes can comprise of both oxides such as perovskites and metals such as Ni and Fe. Efforts at improving the activity, selectivity, and stability of the electrodes continue. Operando methods provide direct access to active sites during the reaction and provide valuable information such as the identity of catalytic material, nature of reaction intermediates, oxidation state of catalytic ions, etc. These methods have created a deeper mechanistic understanding, unravelled new performance indicators, and increasingly enabling a deep diagnostic based systematic development of catalysts and processes. This study summarises and analyses data from operando approaches to develop an understanding of CO₂ reduction mechanism on certain commonly studied electrodes. In particular, this review discusses CO₂ reduction mechanism on electrodes such as Ni-YSZ, CeO_2-x and perovskites such as La_1-xSr_xFeO_y. The CO₂ reduction on these surfaces essentially progresses on an oxide terminated surface via formation of a three coordinated carbon (carbonate type) intermediate formed at oxygen defect sites. Metal electrodes such as Ni-YSZ were found to oxidize in situ in presence of CO₂ and the reaction proceeded via oxide mediated mechanism. In electrodes such as La_1-x Sr_xFeO_y, exsolution of metals was essentially found to have no direct impact on CO₂ electrolysis. In the context of catalyst coking on CeO_x electrodes, new descriptors, such as the number of reduced sites (Ce³⁺), and the existence of metal carbonyl species “Ce³⁺ – CO” have emerged.

Cu-based electrodes have been at the forefront of research on the electrochemical reduction of CO₂ for several decades owing to their ability to generate multi-carbon products. Various innovative approaches, including alloying, doping, and surface modification, have been used to develop catalysts with superior selectivity, activity, and durability. Despite these developments, the commercialization of Cu-based electrocatalysts for the CO₂ reduction reaction remains elusive. This review provides comprehensive insights into catalyst design and discusses methodologies using in situ surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy for the validation of newly designed catalysts, particularly those developed considering the information presented herein.

The conversion of biomass into carbon materials has become an essential pillar of sustainability in electrochemical technologies. However, biomass-derived carbons and their electrodes are complex materials. This opinion article raises concerns about the need to correlate physicochemical properties of these carbon materials with those of the biomass precursor, the electrode composition, and the electrode/electrolyte interface to rationalize the comprehension of their electrocatalytic performance. The electrocatalytic activity of biomass-derived carbons in aqueous environments is discussed for several reactions of interest in terms of the nature and stability of electroactive sites and the ability to form radicals. All these are strongly related to the characteristics of the carbon material (composition, type of functional groups, porosity, structural order) and the manufacture of those electrodes. Concerns are also raised about the ambiguities and misconceptions associated with the lack of consensual terminology on biomass-derived carbons. Finally, recommendations are presented when reporting the electrocatalytic activity of biomass-derived carbons; emphasis should be paid to demonstrate the reproducibility of biomass-derived carbon electrodes and their stability through long-term electrocatalytic assays.