Scientific Achievement
In-situ Pt nanograin imaging revealed the evolution of a surface tensile strain in response to the electrochemical double layers by enhancing the stability of surface oxide at the potentials relevant to oxygen-evolution reactions.
Significance and Impact
Combining a nanopipette electrochemical cell with Bragg Coherent Diffraction Imaging, which enabled this discovery, opens new scanning capabilities for grain-by-grain strain images of real-world electrochemical surfaces.
Research Details
- A scanning-capable nanopipette electrochemical cell was developed to interface with coherent Bragg x-ray diffraction.
- Strain fields of Pt grains were imaged by Bragg coherent diffraction under electrochemical potentials relevant to surface-oxidation and oxygen-evolution reactions.
- Models were developed to explain the strain behavior using the known characteristics of electrochemical double layers.
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