Electrochemistry and ECL
Current research centers on using electrogenerated chemiluminesence (ECL) to push the boundaries of detection for explosives such as TATP and Tetryl. The plot below illustrates nanomolar detection of TATP.
Additionally, scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) is being used for novel corrosion studies of new coatings for naval aircraft.
One of the uses of SECM is to electrochemically 'image' a surface. The tip is brought within a few microns of a surface and raster scanned in the horizontal plane while the current at the tip is monitored. The results of one such experiment is shown in the file below. The image shown is part of a pit several hundred microns across. The surface is not electroactive so when a feature is closer to the tip, current decreases (the magnitude is less) due to blocking of diffusion. The tip is maintained at a constant height during the scan so when it traverses the edge of the pit, current increases as the surface falls away. It is hoped we can monitor pit formation in new coatings for aircraft grade aluminum thereby screening for anti-corrosion effectiveness.
