Electrifying interfaces
Transcription
Electrifying interfaces
Downloaded from http://rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org/ on October 24, 2016 10.1098/rsta.2004.1461 Electrifying interfaces By F r a n k M a r k e n† Department of Chemistry, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, UK Published online 14 September 2004 Electrochemical processes at electrified or polarized phase boundaries and methods for charging phase boundaries are discussed. An important type of interface, the three-phase junction, is introduced and processes at three-phase junctions are compared with those occurring at two-phase junctions. Finally, pairing charged interfaces is considered as a methodology for a more efficient use of electrical energy in microscale electrochemical processes. Chemical processes triggered by currents in the ultimate type of paired electrode system, a tunnel junction, are discussed. Keywords: electrochemistry; charged phase boundaries; ion transfer; triple junctions; electrosynthesis; tunnelling 1. Introduction The inter-conversion of chemical energy and electrical energy is of critical importance in natural processes as well as in technical processes. The photovoltaic generation and the storage of electricity, as well as the use of electricity in electrochemical synthesis, are typical examples. Electricity and chemistry are closely linked and electrical charges play an important and fundamental role in all aspects of chemistry. In homogeneous media, e.g. in solution, the presence of free charges is minimized by the strong requirement of electro-neutrality (as a consequence of Coulomb’s law). The two main reasons for deviation from electro-neutrality in homogeneous media are thermal fluctuations and molecular structures, which are imposed by stronger quantum laws. In contrast, at phase boundaries the requirement of electro-neutrality is removed and, indeed, it is difficult to find phase boundaries, which are uncharged. The potential drop across an interface (typically less than 1 V) depends on the chemical composition of the adjacent phases and can be controlled by externally applied potentials. A potential drop of 1 V across a phase boundary of ca. 1 nm results in an enormous electrical tension of 109 V m−1 . A charge travelling through this potential gradient has enough energy (1 eV) to break chemical bonds, to drive chemical reactions or to result in processes accompanied by the emission of light (Zu et al . 1999). At phase boundaries, the formation and separation of charges, positive and negative, can occur. In nature, charge separation at phase boundaries and charged membranes are the key components in, for example, energy conversion and photosynthetic processes (Stryer 1995). Figure 1 shows a schematic describing the cascade † Present address: Department of Chemistry, University of Bath, Claverton Campus, Bath BA2 7AY, UK (f.marken@bath.ac.uk). One contribution of 17 to a Triennial Issue ‘Chemistry and life science’. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A (2004) 362, 2611–2633 2611 c 2004 The Royal Society Downloaded from http://rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org/ on October 24, 2016 2612 F. Marken stroma lumen Figure 1. Schematic of light-driven processes in a oxygenic photosynthetic membrane. (Adapted from Blankenship (2002).) of reactions involved in oxygenic photosynthesis occurring, for example, in cyanobacteria or in chloroplasts. Light energy is absorbed and converted in two steps (in the photosystems 1 and 2) into a proton gradient across the membrane. At the same time energy is stored chemically in two reagents of opposite electron affinity: dioxygen, O2 , a powerful oxidizing reagent and the reduced form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH), which remains in the organism as a versatile reducing agent. Biological systems use ion-exchange equilibria across membranes to ‘electrify’ phase boundaries and, in the case of photosynthesis, proton transport is driven by light absorption from stroma to lumen. The resulting proton gradient across the membrane or interface may be regarded as stored electrical energy and drives the ATP synthesis in a unique ATP synthase rotor mechanism (‘oxidative phosphorylation’; see figure 1). It is possible to express and calculate the energy stored in the form of electrical charges in conjunction with chemical energy. Chemical equilibria across phase boundPhil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A (2004) Downloaded from http://rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org/ on October 24, 2016 Electrifying interfaces 2613 counter electrode membrane working electrode Figure 2. Schematic of a simple two-terminal electrochemical cell. aries are balanced by electrical equilibria and the sum of terms defining the energy stored in a molecule may be expressed as the ‘electrochemical potential’ (Schmickler 1996) ∂G µ̃i = = µi + zi e0 φ. (1.1) ∂Ni p,T In this equation, the electrochemical potential for a molecule of type i, µ̃i , which is understood here as the molecular Gibbs free energy, is related to the chemical potential, µi , the number of charges on the molecule, zi , the elementary charge, e0 , and the electrical potential across the phase boundary to vacuum, φ. In equilibrium, the electrochemical potentials on both sides of a phase boundary have to be equal. Changing the potential across an interface or ‘electrifying’ the interface therefore creates an imbalance and may be used to drive a chemical process. We review and discuss some electrochemically driven processes at interfaces of different types and complexity. 2. Electrochemical processes at electrified interfaces (a) The electrochemical circuit Electrochemical experiments are conducted by completing an electrical circuit across two contacts (electrodes) immersed into, for example, a solution phase (see figure 2). Once a sufficient potential is applied between the two electrodes, a current will start to flow. It is helpful to consider the two electrodes separately and to denote them as ‘working electrode’ (where the process of interest occurs) and ‘counter electrode’ (an auxiliary electrode). In simple polarization experiments, at the electrode–solution interface, the flow of electrons in the electrode is transformed into a flow of cations and anions in the solution (Faraday’s law). Chemical reactions are required to couple electron flow and ion flow and they occur simultaneously at both electrodes. Usually only the process at the working electrode is of interest. A membrane can be used to avoid unwanted products from the counter electrode interfering with the workingelectrode process. In practice, a reference electrode is often included (in a three-terminal electrochemical cell) to provide a well-defined potential with respect to which all measurements are made. To give an example relevant to bulk-scale industrial electrochemistry Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A (2004) Downloaded from http://rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org/ on October 24, 2016 2614 F. Marken (b) (a) A A e− e− B− C+ B− (d) (c) A e− B− A e− C+ B e− C Figure 3. Schematic of four types of electrochemical interfaces. (a) The flow of charge drives a chemical process at a metal–solution interface. (b) The flow of charge occurs across a metal–solution interface and drives the transfer of a C+ ion at a liquid–liquid phase boundary. (c) At a solid-electrode–liquid–liquid triple interface the flow of charge is driving both a chemical process and simultaneously the ion transfer. (d) At a paired electrode system the flow of charge is driving two complementary processes. (Pletcher & Walsh 1993), metal deposition, refining or electrowinning processes such as the production of aluminium (equation (2.1)) are driven by potentials applied to suitable electrodes: 2Al2 O3 (cryolite) + 3C (counter electrode) → 4Al (metal) + 3CO2 (gas). (2.1) In this process the metal cation in solution (here Al in molten cryolite at 1030 ◦ C) is reduced at the working electrode at sufficiently negative potential (giving Al metal) and a complementary process at the counter electrode (here the formation of CO2 ) occurs at a positive applied potential. The case of a reduction (consumption of electrons) or oxidation (release of electrons) process occurring at the electrode–solution (electrolyte) interface is conceptually relatively simple, but there are other more complex types of interfaces and potential-driven processes. 3+ (b) Electrochemical interfaces A metal electrode in contact with an ionic conductor creates a phase boundary, which in the presence of an applied potential is connecting the flow of electrons with a flow of ions via a chemical reaction (see figure 3a). In this conventional electrochemical process, effectively, at the interface, electrical energy (supplied from an Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A (2004) Downloaded from http://rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org/ on October 24, 2016 Electrifying interfaces 2615 outside reservoir with energy = Faraday constant × applied potential) is converted into chemical energy (in the form of products) and vice versa. In addition, there are energy losses, usually in the form of heat. A thin film of liquid deposited onto the surface of the electrode can be employed to drive a second interfacial process at the phase boundary of the two immiscible liquids (see figure 3b). Shown in the schematic is the case of a cation transfer from the outer to the inner phase driven by the applied potential. The condition for this process to occur is a sufficient ionic conductivity in the thin film phase. In figure 3c, the alternative case of a triple-phase junction process between an electrode and two phases is shown. This more versatile kind of process also allows chemical reactions to be driven in non-ion-conducting media. This ‘triple-phase junction effect’ has important implications for processes involving solid-state reactions and for the development of novel ion-sensing methodology. In contrast to the thin film case (see figure 3b), only a line interface is active. Finally, in figure 3d two electrochemical interfaces are paired to drive a chemical process. The potential benefits of this configuration are the use of both working and counter electrode simultaneously within a very small space and without unwanted side reactions or waste products. In practice, this paired electrosynthesis approach requires a careful design of a more complex reaction sequence and has not yet been realized for a commercial process. The relevance, fundamentals and application of these four different types of electrified interfaces are discussed in more detail below. 3. Electrochemical processes at triple interfaces (a) Processes at conventional liquid–liquid interfaces In bulk solution, compositional gradients lead to transport phenomena and relaxation towards a homogeneous state. However, at phase boundaries, a stable compositional gradient exists and this manifests a spatial change in chemical potential balanced by a gradient in electrical potential (see equation (1.1)). The potential gradient leads to the formation of a charged interfacial (double) layer (Bockris et al . 2000). In order to generate the gradient in electrical potential, dipolar orientation and, more importantly, ion exchange occur. A liquid–liquid interface in equilibrium can be perturbed by the addition of chemical reagents or by changing the electrical potential in electrochemical experiments (Girault 1993). Figure 4a shows a schematic of a system in which two electrodes have been introduced into two separate liquid phases (water and oil). The potential applied to these electrodes is known and equal to the sum of potentials across the cell. For electrodes which cannot sustain an applied potential (nonpolarizable electrodes, e.g. reference/counter combinations or electrodes immersed in redox-active material; see figure 4b), the resulting potential gradient is localized or ‘focused’ at the liquid–liquid interface only. Therefore, a potential can be applied across the liquid–liquid phase junction and chemical reactions or ion-exchange processes can be driven. A prerequisite for this type of process is the ability of the two liquids to conduct electrical signals. This can be achieved for example by adding dissociating salts (the supporting electrolyte). In practice, well-defined liquid–liquid interfaces can be investigated at microholes (Wilke & Zerihun 1998), at expanding droplets (Slevin & Unwin 1999) or at the outlet of micropipettes (Shao & Mirkin 1997). Over recent years, elegant experimental Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A (2004) Downloaded from http://rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org/ on October 24, 2016 2616 F. Marken (a) (b) working electrode counter electrode e− e− Β− C− A B liquid–liquid interface Figure 4. Schematic of (a) a simple liquid–liquid electrochemical cell with a liquid–liquid phase junction separating two electrodes and (b) a cycle of charge transfer processes which lead to the polarization of the liquid–liquid interface upon externally applying a potential. techniques have been developed for the study of static liquid–liquid phase boundaries and also for dynamic (flowing) liquid–liquid phase boundaries (Yunus et al . 2002). A beautiful example of an electrochemical process driven at the liquid–liquid interface is the formation of metal clusters by interfacial reduction of metal cations. This has been demonstrated for gold (Cheng & Schiffrin 1996) and for silver (Guo et al . 2003a) and may be compared with the electrochemical reduction and deposition of these metals at conventional electrode surfaces. Compared with a conventional solid surface with defects and imperfections, the liquid surface is much more uniform and free of catalytic nucleation sites and therefore these liquid–liquid metal deposition processes are unique. (b) Processes at solid–liquid–liquid triple interfaces A triple interface—or line interface (Rowlinson & Widom 1982)—commonly forms where three immiscible phases are in contact. Figure 5a shows a droplet of, for example, oil sessile on an electrode surface and immersed in aqueous electrolyte solution. The triple interface is located in the form of a ring at the oil–water–electrode three-phase junction. An example of triple interface processes at microdroplets is shown in figure 6. An oily and entirely water insoluble compound, N,N,N ,N -tetrahexylphenylenediamine (THPD) (Marken et al . 1997), is deposited in the form of microdroplets onto an electrode and immersed into an aqueous solution containing only supporting electrolyte. The potential of the electrode is scanned from 0.0 V towards a positive potential of 0.6 V versus SCE. A deposit on a transparent electrode placed under a microscope clearly shows a colour change commencing from the triple-phase junction (figure 6b). Chemical microanalysis revealed that, during this oxidation process, anions have been forced from the water phase into the organic oil phase. Thus, during the potentialPhil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A (2004) Downloaded from http://rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org/ on October 24, 2016 Electrifying interfaces (a) 2617 water oil electrode X− X− (b) oxidation X−+ X− e− (c) reduction − X− X + X− X−+ +X− X−+ − X−+ X−+ +X−++ X + X− X− e− Figure 5. Schematic of (a) an oil droplet forming a three-phase junction with an aqueous phase and the electrode; (b) an oxidation process within the droplet, triggering anion transfer from the aqueous into the oil phase; (c) the reverse reduction process, triggering the expulsion of anions into the aqueous phase. driven oxidation of the droplet, anions have to cross the liquid–liquid phase boundary (see figure 5b). This process is fully reversible and, after applying a negative potential, expulsion of the anions (figure 5c) is observed. Changing the type of anion and pH in the water phase causes a tell-tale shift in the potential at which the oxidation occurs (see figure 6c, d). This potential shift for different anions is dominated by the contribution from the energy required to remove the anion from the aqueous phase (or more correctly by the Gibbs free energy of ion transfer across the liquid–liquid phase boundary) and the shift with pH (in agreement with the appropriate Nernst equation (Schröder et al . 2001)) is indicative of a transition from anion exchange to proton exchange at sufficiently high proton activities. A schematic depicting the electrochemically driven ion-exchange process at the three-phase junction is shown in figure 5. Electron transfer occurs close to the triple interface and the resulting charge generated in the organic phase causes the transfer of anions from the water phase. Coating the electrode with a thin film of organic oil rather than with microdroplets causes only electrode blocking, and no currents are detected. Only in regions where the two interfaces (solid–liquid and liquid–liquid) are sufficiently proximate does the redox process commence. Interestingly, additional convective transport effects (Marangoni convection) have been proposed to be partly responsible for the high efficiency of the process (Ball et al . 2000). This development of an electrochemically driven ion-exchange process at microdroplets was exploited and developed further. The Gibbs free energy of transfer Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A (2004) Downloaded from http://rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org/ on October 24, 2016 2618 F. Marken (a) H2C H2C H2C H2C H2C H2C (b) CH3 H3C CH2 H2C CH2 H2C N N CH2 H2C CH2 H2C CH3 H3C CH2 CH2 CH2 CH2 CH2 CH2 (d) (c) 10 µA pH4 pH1 pH2 pH3 pH7 0 0.3 E/V (vs. SCE) 0.6 Emid in V versus SCE 0.6 0.5 0.4 NO3− 0.3 SCN− CIO4− PF6− 0.2 0.1 0 1 2 3 4 5 pH 6 7 8 Figure 6. (a) Structure of THPD. (b) Microscopic image of THPD microdroplets on the surface of a transparent electrode and immersed in aqueous 0.1 M NaClO4 being converted into dark blue THPD+ ClO− 4 microdroplets. The process commences at the three-phase junction. (c) Cyclic voltammograms for the oxidation of THPD droplets immersed in aqueous 0.1 M KNO3 as a function of pH. (d) Plot of the midpoint potential observed for different types of anions. (Adapted from Marken et al . (1997).) is a key parameter in biology and physiology, where ion transfer between aqueous fluid domains and membranes or fat domains is crucial. For instance, the interaction between pharmaceuticals and the body is strongly affected by this parameter. In the past, data for these Gibbs free energies have been very difficult to obtain. However, in recent work by Scholz and co-workers it is demonstrated how voltammetric measurements at triple-phase junctions provide access to these data. A wide variety of anions (Komorsky-Lovric et al . 2002) including amino acids and oligo-peptides (Mirceski et al . 2002; Gulaboski & Scholz 2003), anionic drugs (Bouchard et al . 2003), as well as cations (Scholz et al . 2003) have been studied. In the presence of microdroplets, electrode surfaces also provide femtolitre microreactor environments for catalytic (Davies et al . 2004) or photochemical (Wadhawan et al . 2003a) processes. Compton and co-workers (Wadhawan et al . 2003b) have demonstrated distinct types of electrocatalysis with processes at the droplet surface or processes within the droplets. Now, electrocatalysts can be placed at electrode surfaces in microdroplet environments to overcome solubility problems and Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A (2004) Downloaded from http://rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org/ on October 24, 2016 Electrifying interfaces 2619 (b) (a) (iii) (ii) (i) n-C6H13 N n-C6H13 N n-C6H13 n-C6H13 N n-C6H13 100 µA 0 E/V (versus SCE) 0.7 (d) (c) n-C6H13 50 µA N n-C6H13 −0.3 0 E/V (versus SCE) N n-C6H13 S n-C6H13 N n-C6H13 0.5 Figure 7. (a) Structure of N1 -[4-(dihexylamino)phenyl]-N1 ,N4 ,N4 -trihexyl-1,4-phenylenediamine (DPTPD). Cyclic voltammograms obtained for DPTPD microdroplets (b) in the absence and (c) in the presence of sulphide anions. (d) Structure of the proposed reaction product. (Adapted from Marken et al . (1999).) immobilization effects. Figure 7 shows the case of a sensor microdroplet redox system chemically responding to a particular type of anion, here hydrogen sulphide, HS− (Marken et al . 1999). Microdroplets of N1 -[4-(dihexylamino)phenyl]-N1,N4 ,N4 trihexyl-1,4-phenylenediamine, when oxidized in the presence of HS− , give a product shown in figure 7d, with a new voltammetric signature. A review of electrochemically driven microdroplet processes is given in Banks et al . (2003). (c) Processes at solid–solid–liquid triple interfaces In contrast to microdroplet-based electrochemical processes, electrochemical reactions at microparticles have been studied for a considerable time (Grygar et al . 2002; Brainina & Neyman 1993). The triple-phase junction in this case is formed at the contact point between the particle (here assumed to be electrically insulating), the electrode surface and the aqueous electrolyte phase (see figure 8a). In comparison with the situation above where material in a droplet is electrochemically converted, the conversion of a solid requires a solid-to-solid reaction step. This is indicated in figure 8a in terms of the formation of a new product, phase 2, from the starting material, phase 1, and a moving reaction front separating the two. For many types of solids Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A (2004) Downloaded from http://rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org/ on October 24, 2016 2620 F. Marken (b) (a) phase 3 phase 1 phase 2 phase 4 2 µm (d) (c) 100 µA −0.7 NaCl 0 0.7 50 µA −0.6 0 0.6 0 0.3 KPF6 20 µA −0.7 K Fe Fe NaClO4 20 µA −0.7 Cl NaF 0 Fe Cl K Fe 0.3 E/V versus Ag/AgCl Figure 8. (a) Schematic of a solid–liquid–electrode triple-phase junction system. (b) SEM image of decamethylferrocene microparticles imbedded in a graphite electrode. (c) Cyclic voltammetric data for the oxidation of decamethylferrocene microparticles in aqueous 0.1 M electrolyte solution with different types of salts. (d) Elemental analysis of decamethylferrocene particles before and after oxidation in the presence of ClO− 4 , proving the uptake of anions into the solid during oxidation. (Adapted from Bond & Marken (1994).) this reaction step is extremely slow and prevents any reaction progress through bigger particles. However, for very small particles, electrochemical processes are readily detected even for highly insoluble materials. The oxidation of decamethylferrocene deposited onto carbon electrodes and immersed in aqueous electrolyte solution is an instructive example (see figure 8). The one-electron oxidation of the solid was detected (Bond & Marken 1994) and it was shown by elemental analysis (see figure 8d) that the transfer of anions into the solid phase indeed occurs. A wide range of solid microparticles have been studied electrochemically (Scholz & Meyer 1998; Bond 2002) and two distinct types of processes may be distinguished. Some solid materials allow the uptake and expulsion of ions from the aqueous phase to proceed without a significant activation-energy barrier. For these ‘electrochemically open’ materials (e.g. the dinuclear ruthenium complex shown in figure 9 (Bond et Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A (2004) Downloaded from http://rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org/ on October 24, 2016 Electrifying interfaces 2621 n+ (PF6)n− with n = 2,3,4 N N N Ru N O N N O N N N Ru N N N 100 µA 0 0.5 E/V (versus SCE) −0.5 1.0 Figure 9. The structure of [{Ru(bipy)2 }2 (µ-1,4-dihydroxy-2,5-bis(pyrazol-1-yl)benzene dianion)] (PF6 )n with n = 2, 3 or 4 and cyclic voltammograms for the oxidation of microparticles of this metal complex immobilized at a graphite electrode and immersed in aqueous 0.1 M KPF6 . (Adapted from Bond et al . (2000).) NC Iox CN 400 µA IIox IIred NC CN Ired 0.5 1.0 −1.0 −0.5 0 E/V versus Ag(s)|AgCI(s)|KCI(aq) 3m Figure 10. Structure of TCNQ and voltammetric data for the reduction of TCNQ microparticles immobilized at the surface of a graphite electrode and immersed in aqueous 0.1 M KCl. (Adapted from Bond et al . (1996).) Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A (2004) Downloaded from http://rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org/ on October 24, 2016 2622 F. Marken (a) (b) + anode starting materials O2 ATP products ADP cathode NADH − Figure 11. Schematics of (a) a paired electrochemical process and (b) the electron flow in the biological oxidative phosphorylation process. al . 2000)), voltammetric responses are well defined and the peak-to-peak separation for complementary oxidation and reduction processes is small. In contrast, ‘electrochemically closed’ materials prevent ion uptake into the host lattice, presumably due to stronger lattice forces and/or the need for substantial lattice expansion. These materials require a nucleation step and the formation of a new phase (phase 2 in figure 8a), which is associated with a considerable activation energy barrier (in the form of interfacial tension between phase 1 and phase 2 (Bond et al . 1996)). As a result a characteristic gap or ‘inert zone’ between reduction and oxidation (see, for example, process I for tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ) in figure 10) is observed (Bond et al . 1998). 4. Electrochemical processes at paired interfaces (a) Beneficially pairing electrochemical processes All electrode processes discussed up to this point were driven by the potential applied to one electrode, the working electrode. However, in an electrochemical circuit there are always at least two terminals and a complementary chemical process is always occurring at the second terminal, the counter electrode. It is interesting to ask whether these two electrode processes can be beneficially coupled without Faradaic losses and with a minimum of resistive losses or unwanted side products. A comparison with natural redox processes shows that highly effective reaction cycles have evolved by pairing complementary redox systems. A case of considerable importance is depicted schematically in figure 11. ‘Redox fuels’ for biological processes, dioxygen (O2 , taken from the atmosphere) and NADH (reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, formed in glycolysis and in the citric acid cycle) provide a 1.14 V driving Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A (2004) Downloaded from http://rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org/ on October 24, 2016 Electrifying interfaces 2623 force for diverse biological processes. In a ‘paired’ process (oxidative phosphorylation) both compounds are consumed and ATP (adenosine triphosphate) is formed. ATP may be regarded as a universal biological source of chemical energy, which, for example, then drives biosynthesis in the Calvin cycle (Stryer 1995). Analogously, it should also be possible to beneficially couple anodic and cathodic electrode processes with energy from both electron transfer processes going into the formation of the desired products (see figure 11). Currently, technical electrode processes are far less complex compared with biological redox chains, and a few attempts to pair electrode processes have been reported (Lund & Baizer 1991). The first step towards paired electrosynthesis is the use of an undivided cell in which both anode and cathode contribute to the overall reaction. A typical example, the use of a complementary counter electrode process in a ‘convergent’ process forming glyoxalic acid from oxalic acid and glyoxal (Jalbout & Zhang 2002), is given by COOH redu ction COOH CHO ion oxidat CHO COOH CHO (4.1) ‘Divergent’ paired electrode processes (one starting material yielding two products; for example, glucose (Yu et al . 1988)) and the elegant use of hydrogen peroxide formed at the cathode (Li et al . 1999) have been proposed. In contrast to these processes, more intimately paired electrode reactions may result at a very small anode to cathode separation. For example, the formation of anthraquinone (ANQ) from anthracene (AN) and dioxygen has been reported (Amatore & Brown 1996): O2 ANQ .− ANQ.− O2 AN.+ cathode +e− ANQ −e− anode AN H2 (4.2) The distance between the two electrodes involved in the paired process is a crucial parameter. For electrodes at a considerable distance from each other, the electrode processes remain decoupled and independent (see equation (4.1)). However, upon bringing the two electrodes into closer proximity, new reaction pathways may become available. Figure 12 shows a graph with the distance between two charges (or electrodes) on the horizontal axis and the approximate time-scale for inter-diffusion on the vertical axis. For a large distance, conventional electrochemical processes are expected. In contrast, for a very small gap, of the order of some angstroms, direct tunnelling is expected without the formation of useful products (similar to photoPhil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A (2004) Downloaded from http://rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org/ on October 24, 2016 F. Marken photochemical processes time scale (s) 105 101 10−3 10−7 'transition zone' conventional electrochemical processes 2624 10−11 1 1 nm 10 nm 100 nm 1 µm 10 µm 100 µm 1 mm distance of charge separation Figure 12. Plot indicating the time-scale of diffusion for a given distance of charge separation. chemical processes which involve charge separation by excitation followed by annihilation and heat generation). Located between these two extremes is a transition zone, where reaction layers of the two electrodes overlap and where novel coupled processes are possible. Continuously varying the distance between a probe electrode and a substrate electrode immersed in a suitable solution should result in a characteristic current—distance or potential—distance profile indicative of zones in which coupled chemical processes occur. From this discussion it can be seen that the distance between anode and cathode, and the ‘design’ of the chemical process, are the key factors in making paired electrochemistry a viable option to replace conventional bulk-scale synthetic routes. The use of a two-phase systems within the electrode gap to control the reaction pathway of the paired process may further contribute to this development. Beneficially pairing two electrode processes represents a considerable challenge. (b) The electrode design for paired electrosynthesis Chemical systems for paired electrosynthesis are rare and of far lower complexity than biological processes. Paired electrosynthesis methodology has been developed by Lund & Baizer (1991) and recently pursued, for example, by Li & Nonaka (1999a, b), Hu et al . (1995), Steckhan et al . (2001), Ferrigno et al . (1998) and Belmont et al . (1998). In some cases entirely new products, such as the anthracene electro-oxidation product anthracenedione or a C–C coupling product formed in a zone between the anode and cathode (Kim et al . 2001), can be isolated after bulk electrolysis. Propylene oxidation (Belmont & Girault 1995) and sea-water-electrolysis processes have been realized, for example, at closely spaced interdigitated band-array electrodes. In the following section, types of electrodes for paired electrosynthesis and masstransport parameters are discussed. Reactions at electrodes are distinct from reactions in homogeneous solutions, in that mass transport to and away from the reaction zone is crucial and often rate limiting. The transport of reactants may occur via diffusion, but it is usually aided by controlled convection. This can be achieved by stirring a solution, by directing a liquid jet towards the electrode surface (Alden et al . 1999), or by placing the electrode system into a high-intensity ultrasound field (Compton et al . 1997). Each type of mass-transport enhancement affects the distribution of the current density across the electrode surface in a specific way. For example, with a laminar flow of liquid across an electrode surface, the current density at the upstream edge is the Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A (2004) Downloaded from http://rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org/ on October 24, 2016 Electrifying interfaces (a) (b) 2625 width length electrode 1 electrode 2 flow height 2h (c) starting materials reaction products porous Au SiO2 conducting substrate Figure 13. Schematic of three-electrode systems for paired electrochemical processes. highest, and products from this zone can reduce the efficiency of the electrode further downstream. Figure 13a shows an interdigitated electrode system, which can now be produced routinely and in extremely small dimensions via advanced lithographic techniques. Each electrode has a band geometry with a width of typically 0.1–100 µm and a gap of similar size between the electrodes. It is instructive to consider two limiting cases of processes at this type of electrode: a fully reversible process, Α cathode +e− Α− Α −e− anode Α− (4.3) and a chemically irreversible paired electrode process, P B cathode +e− A C −e− anode D S (4.4) Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A (2004) Downloaded from http://rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org/ on October 24, 2016 2626 F. Marken A fully reversible process causes diffusion-controlled feedback currents between the generator and collector electrodes, which are strongly size and geometry dependent. For the interdigitated band electrode (see figure 13a), the steady-state feedback current has been determined (Aoki et al . 1988; Fosset et al . 1991) and the approximate diffusion layer thickness, δdiffusion (the layer of solution affected by the process), can be equated (in good approximation) to the width of the gap between electrodes, w: δdiffusion ≈ w. (4.5) Under feedback conditions (equation (4.3)), the magnitude of the current for the reversible process is high, and effects of externally applied convection are low. In contrast, for an irreversible paired process (equation (4.4)), reactants will be immediately depleted and the convection-assisted transport of reactants toward the electrode becomes crucial. Solution flowing across the electrode surface will improve the process based on the following approximation: δdiffusion = nF DAc . Ilim (4.6) In this expression δdiffusion , the diffusion layer thickness, is related to n, the number of electrons transferred per molecule, F , Faraday’s constant, D, the diffusion coefficient, A, the electrode area, c, the bulk concentration of starting material and Ilim , the current for the process. Convection reduces the diffusion layer thickness and therefore increase the current. By comparing equations (4.5) and (4.6) it can be seen that the irreversible process will remain paired as long as the diffusion layer thickness achieved by convection remains larger compared with the electrode and gap dimensions of the interdigitated array. Therefore, reducing the dimensions of the electrode system improves the process. On the other hand, for a particular reaction with a chemical rate constant kc the smallest electrode dimension (or reaction layer thickness) avoiding feedback conditions is given by δreaction = D/kc . Reducing the gap between the electrodes below the reaction-layer thickness will cause simple feedback currents to flow without the formation of products. An alternative approach to paired electrochemical processes can be based on thin layer flow-through channel cells (figure 13b). This geometry allows coupling of the two electrodes located vis-à-vis and mass-transport enhancement via flowing the solution (Paddon et al . 2002). For a paired (irreversible) electrode process, this type of electrode assembly brings two big disadvantages: in upstream and downstream regions of the cell different current densities and processes will occur and the volume of solution pumped through the cell is severely limited. Finally, an alternative electrode system shown in figure 13c is based on a sandwich of two electrodes and a ceramic membrane of high porosity, and convective transport of reactants towards the surface. The sandwich electrode system is proposed to combine simple design and operation and high efficiency. All three types of electrode system allow a further problem of electrosynthesis methodology to be addressed: the need to support the electrolyte. Processes within very small gaps between electrodes are less affected by conductivity problems and generally these processes are ‘self-supported’ due to charged species being generated in situ. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A (2004) Downloaded from http://rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org/ on October 24, 2016 Electrifying interfaces 2627 x y variable-height working electrodes z substrate Figure 14. Schematic of the experimental geometry for SECM or STM. (c) Nanoscale paired electrochemical and tunnelling processes A family of techniques has been developed in which a sharp metal tip or electrode is lowered towards a substrate surface (see figure 14) and the current is detected as a function of distance and position. In this way, electrochemical processes can be monitored within a gap of typically 10–100 µm in scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) and tunnelling processes can be monitored within a gap of 0.1–1 Å in scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM). Electron-tunnelling events between an electrode and a molecule are part of all electrochemical processes. These fundamental and elementary reaction steps occur very quickly and on a very small scale. Only very little detailed experimental information is available. When two biased electrical conductors are placed in very close proximity (typically a gap of less than 1 nm) electron tunnelling occurs continuously and tunnel currents become measurable as a function of distance. Molecules may be placed within this gap and in this way tunnelling of electrons through the molecular structure can be observed. Techniques able to achieve this kind of molecular conductivity measurement are ‘break junction’ or ‘crossed-wire junction’ experiments (Weber et al . 2003) and STM (Wiesendanger 1994). Break junctions are formed by controlled tearing of a very thin metal wire. Placing molecules into the resulting nanogap results in characteristic current–voltage curves, which reflect the molecular electronic structure (Reed et al . 1997) and the way the molecules are connected to the electrodes (Tada & Yoshizawa 2002). Tunnelling through these molecules apparently has no implication in terms of chemical reactions, but inelastic tunnelling is known to lead to the excitation of molecular vibrations or even to photon emission (Guo et al . 2003b). If chemical reactions could be triggered under these conditions, a new methodology would have to be invented to detect and determine the reaction products. In STM techniques, a microscopically sharp metal tip is lowered towards an electrically conducting surface (figure 14) and tunnelling currents are detected as a function of distance and bias voltage. The technique allows scanning across the surface of a sample, exploring and imaging the molecules present at the surface and monitoring Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A (2004) Downloaded from http://rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org/ on October 24, 2016 2628 F. Marken (a) initial final (b) I (nA) 0.6 0.2 120 (c) (d) time (ms) (e) Figure 15. (a) Schematic of how a tunnel current applied from the STM tip leads to molecular bond breaking. (b) Tunnel current changes during bond breaking. (c)–(e) A sequence of STM images showing the iodobenzene molecule adsorbed on the Cu(111) step edge at 12 K before and after reaction. (Adapted from Hla & Rieder (2002).) of the progress of chemical reactions directly in situ. It has been shown that at low temperature the STM tip can used for moving atoms and for manipulating molecular structures (Ueba 2003). Hla et al . (2000) and Hla & Rieder (2002) proposed and demonstrated a step-bystep chemical reaction sequence driven and monitored by the STM tip (see figure 15). They discovered that at low temperature iodobenzene is adsorbed onto a well-defined copper surface and a tunnel current can be employed to trigger a chemical bond breaking process. Furthermore, the phenyl fragment from this reaction was combined with a second phenyl fragment to give biphenyl after bond formation. Overall, this type of reaction is known as the Ullmann process, and has been demonstrated step by step, triggered by the STM tip. The tunnel current causes excitation of molecular vibrations and therefore this process may be regarded as ‘molecular welding’. The experiment demonstrates that there are novel ways of driving chemical processes at electrified interfaces and at a very small scale. 5. Summary Electrified interfaces are essential in many technical and natural processes, and a better understanding of these processes is of considerable future importance. Processes described here highlight only some selected electrochemical processes, with the emphasis on novel types of interfaces and going from large-scale processes to molecular-scale reactions. It is instructive to compare the technical approach for chemical energy storage or electrochemical synthesis with the way nature stores energy and synthesizes molecular structures. A striking difference identified here is the complexity of reaction sequences and environments. Bringing two electrodes together for a paired electrochemical reaction might only be the beginning of a Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. 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Soc. Lond. A (2004) Downloaded from http://rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org/ on October 24, 2016 AUTHOR PROFILE Frank Marken Frank Marken was born in 1964 in Oldenburg, Germany, and studied Chemistry at RWTH Aachen, Germany, and at the University of Bristol. He graduated in 1989 and prepared his doctoral dissertation on ‘Metal cyclopentadienide complexes’ with Professor G. E. Herberich. Periods of postdoctoral research followed with Professor A. M. Bond in Melbourne, Australia (supported by the Alexander-von-Humboldt Foundation) and with Professor R. G. Compton in Oxford. He has held a Royal Society University Research Fellowship since October 1996 and has been elected to a Stipendiary Lectureship in Physical Chemistry at New College, Oxford. He joined the Department of Chemistry at Loughborough University as a Lecturer in 2000, and moved to the Department of Chemistry at the University of Bath in September 2004. Research interests focus on electrochemical processes and complex interfaces. 2633