Carbon Thin‐Film Electrodes as High‐Performing Substrates for Correlative Single Entity Electrochemistry
Correlative methods to characterize single entities by electrochemistry and microscopy/spectroscopy are increasingly needed to elucidate structure-function relationships of nanomaterials. However, the technical constraints often differ depending on the characterization techniques to be applied in combination. One of the cornerstones of correlative single-entity electrochemistry (SEE) is the substrate, which needs to achieve a high conductivity, low roughness, and electrochemical inertness. This work shows that graphitized sputtered carbon thin films constitute excellent electrodes for SEE while enabling characterization with scanning probe, optical, electron, and X-ray microscopies. Three different correlative SEE experiments using nanoparticles, nanocubes, and 2D Ti<sub>3</sub>C<sub>2</sub>T<sub>x</sub> MXene materials are reported to illustrate the potential of using carbon thin film substrates for SEE characterization. The advantages and unique capabilities of SEE correlative strategies are further demonstrated by showing that electrochemically oxidized Ti<sub>3</sub>C<sub>2</sub>T<sub>x</sub> MXene display changes in chemical bonding and electrolyte ion distribution.
Authors
- Maida Aysla Costa de Oliveira (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8234-9027)
- Peer Bärmann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8900-6956)
- Dahnan Spurling (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4585-2413)
- Mariangela Longhi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0014-3576)
- Christian Schröder (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8453-9382)
- Hugo Nolan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3262-6860)
- Tristan Petit (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6504-072X)
- Valeria Nicolosi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7637-4813)
- Pietro Martinuz
- Paula E. Colavita (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1008-2874)
- Filippo Pota (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5761-6012)
- Kim McKelvey (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0686-6898)
- Marc Brunet Cabré (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4996-0913)
- Faidra Amargianou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5637-3522)
- Laurence Brazel
- Lua Henderson
Institutions
- University of Milan (IT)
- Trinity College Dublin (IE)
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie (DE)
- Victoria University of Wellington (NZ)
- Advanced Materials and BioEngineering Research (IE)
- MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology (NZ)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Small Methods
- Published
- 2024-08-19
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/smtd.202400639
- Citations
- 11
- Primary Topic
- MXene and MAX Phase Materials
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.29
Funders
- Nuffield Foundation
- European Commission
- Science Foundation Ireland
- Irish Research Council
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie
- European Research Council
- HORIZON EUROPE Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions