What it is
The authors introduce an operando electrochemiluminescence (ECL) microscopy method that images and evaluates apparent electrocatalytic nitrate reduction kinetics at the level of single catalyst particles. Using Cu(111) nanosheets as a model catalyst, they convert reaction-induced optical signals into spatially resolved descriptors of nitrate adsorption and intermediate evolution, with the time-dependent ECL response revealing the generation and diffusion of nitrite, a key intermediate. The resulting kinetic maps expose substantial variation between individual particles, and correlative imaging shows that coupling between particles shapes apparent performance by modulating intermediate accumulation and interfacial mass transport under dilute conditions.
Why it matters
Nitrate reduction is a sustainable way to remove nitrate pollution and make valuable nitrogen chemicals, but conventional measurements average over many particles and hide what happens at individual sites under realistic dilute conditions. This ECL microscopy resolves that behavior particle by particle, revealing heterogeneity and interparticle coupling that ensemble methods miss. It links interfacial processes directly to apparent catalytic performance.
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Filed underAmmonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction, CO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts, Metalloenzymes and iron-sulfur proteins