Chinese Journal of Catalysis ›› 2022, Vol. 43 ›› Issue (11): 2757-2771.DOI: 10.1016/S1872-2067(22)64157-3

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Surface-enhanced vibrational spectroscopies in electrocatalysis: Fundamentals, challenges, and perspectives

Hai-Sheng Su, Xiaoxia Chang, Bingjun Xu*()   

  1. College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
  • Received:2022-06-01 Accepted:2022-07-28 Online:2022-11-18 Published:2022-10-20
  • Contact: Bingjun Xu
  • About author:Bingjun Xu is the Ge li and Ning Zhao Chair Professor at College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering of the Peking University. Dr. Xu received his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Harvard University in 2011, and then worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Caltech. Dr. Xu started his independent research career in the Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at University of Delaware in 2013 as an Assistant Professor, and was promoted to a Centennial Development Associate Professor in 2019. Dr. Xu joined the Peking University in 2020. The current research interest of the Xu lab spans heterogeneous catalysis, electrocatalysis and in-situ/operando spectroscopy. Dr. Xu is an awardee of US NSF Early Career Award (2017), US Air Force Office of Scientific Research Young Investigator Award (2016), ACS Petroleum Research Fund Doctoral New Investigator Award (2015), the I&EC Class 2018 Influential Researchers (2018), and was elected as an Early Career Fellow in the Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Division of ACS (2022). He has published more than 100 peer reviewed articles.
  • Supported by:
    China Postdoctoral Science Foundation(2022M710001);Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Science

Abstract:

Electrocatalysis offers a promising approach towards chemical synthesis driven by renewable energy. Molecular level understanding of the electrochemical interface remains challenging due to its compositional and structural complexity. In situ interfacial specific characterization techniques could help uncover structure-function relationships and reaction mechanism. To this end, electrochemical surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy (SEIRAS) thrive as powerful techniques to provide fingerprint information of interfacial species at reaction conditions. In this review, we first introduce the fundamentals of SERS and SEIRAS, followed by discussion regarding the technical challenges and potential solutions. Finally, we highlight future directions for further development of surface-enhanced spectroscopic techniques for electrocatalytic studies.

Key words: Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, Surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy, In situ characterization, Electrocatalysis, Structure-function relationship, Reaction mechanism