Chemical Imaging
Research
Electrochemiluminescence (ECL) is a phenomenon in which a luminophore enters an excited state after reacting with a radical compound, which is formed after electrochemical potential is applied. As these compounds relax, they produce light that is often visible to the naked eye. This light can be used in combination with microscopy to investigate what kinds of products form from the reaction, as these reactions typically produce gas or a solid precipitate that contains the radical compound.
So far, this imaging technique has been used to study crystal morphology and microscopic gas dynamics, the latter of which providing a unique perspective on mass transfer and fluid dynamics at the electrode surface. Using this information, these reaction systems can be optimized to preferentially form the solid product, essentially fossilizing reactive intermediates that are traditionally known to have lifetimes on the scale of microseconds for tens of minutes instead.
Radical crystals show potential in greatly expanding the fields of alternative energy and efficient chemical synthesis, and investigating ways to more reliably form these crystals is made significantly more efficient with the imaging techniques used in our work.
