Separating Convective from Diffusive Mass Transport Mechanisms in Ionic Liquids by Redox Pro-fluorescence Microscopy

The study of electrochemical reactivity requires analytical techniques capable of probing the diffusion of reactants and products to and from electrified interfaces. Information on diffusion coefficients is often obtained indirectly by modeling current transients and cyclic voltammetry data, but suc...

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Main Authors: Belotti, Mattia, El-Tahawy, M.M.T., Garavelli, M., Coote, M.L., Iyer, K.S., Ciampi, Simone
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: 2023
Online Access:http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP220100553
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/93932
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author Belotti, Mattia
El-Tahawy, M.M.T.
Garavelli, M.
Coote, M.L.
Iyer, K.S.
Ciampi, Simone
author_facet Belotti, Mattia
El-Tahawy, M.M.T.
Garavelli, M.
Coote, M.L.
Iyer, K.S.
Ciampi, Simone
author_sort Belotti, Mattia
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The study of electrochemical reactivity requires analytical techniques capable of probing the diffusion of reactants and products to and from electrified interfaces. Information on diffusion coefficients is often obtained indirectly by modeling current transients and cyclic voltammetry data, but such measurements lack spatial resolution and are accurate only if mass transport by convection is negligible. Detecting and accounting for adventitious convection in viscous and wet solvents, such as ionic liquids, is technically challenging. We have developed a direct, spatiotemporally resolved optical tracking of diffusion fronts which can detect and resolve convective disturbances to linear diffusion. By tracking the movement of an electrode-generated fluorophore, we demonstrate that parasitic gas evolving reactions lead to 10-fold overestimates of macroscopic diffusion coefficients. A hypothesis is put forward linking large barriers to inner-sphere redox reactions, such as hydrogen gas evolution, to the formation of cation-rich overscreening and crowding double layer structures in imidazolium-based ionic liquids.
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institution Curtin University Malaysia
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language eng
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publishDate 2023
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-939322024-07-03T05:35:52Z Separating Convective from Diffusive Mass Transport Mechanisms in Ionic Liquids by Redox Pro-fluorescence Microscopy Belotti, Mattia El-Tahawy, M.M.T. Garavelli, M. Coote, M.L. Iyer, K.S. Ciampi, Simone The study of electrochemical reactivity requires analytical techniques capable of probing the diffusion of reactants and products to and from electrified interfaces. Information on diffusion coefficients is often obtained indirectly by modeling current transients and cyclic voltammetry data, but such measurements lack spatial resolution and are accurate only if mass transport by convection is negligible. Detecting and accounting for adventitious convection in viscous and wet solvents, such as ionic liquids, is technically challenging. We have developed a direct, spatiotemporally resolved optical tracking of diffusion fronts which can detect and resolve convective disturbances to linear diffusion. By tracking the movement of an electrode-generated fluorophore, we demonstrate that parasitic gas evolving reactions lead to 10-fold overestimates of macroscopic diffusion coefficients. A hypothesis is put forward linking large barriers to inner-sphere redox reactions, such as hydrogen gas evolution, to the formation of cation-rich overscreening and crowding double layer structures in imidazolium-based ionic liquids. 2023 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/93932 10.1021/acs.analchem.3c00168 eng http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP220100553 http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/FT190100148 fulltext
spellingShingle Belotti, Mattia
El-Tahawy, M.M.T.
Garavelli, M.
Coote, M.L.
Iyer, K.S.
Ciampi, Simone
Separating Convective from Diffusive Mass Transport Mechanisms in Ionic Liquids by Redox Pro-fluorescence Microscopy
title Separating Convective from Diffusive Mass Transport Mechanisms in Ionic Liquids by Redox Pro-fluorescence Microscopy
title_full Separating Convective from Diffusive Mass Transport Mechanisms in Ionic Liquids by Redox Pro-fluorescence Microscopy
title_fullStr Separating Convective from Diffusive Mass Transport Mechanisms in Ionic Liquids by Redox Pro-fluorescence Microscopy
title_full_unstemmed Separating Convective from Diffusive Mass Transport Mechanisms in Ionic Liquids by Redox Pro-fluorescence Microscopy
title_short Separating Convective from Diffusive Mass Transport Mechanisms in Ionic Liquids by Redox Pro-fluorescence Microscopy
title_sort separating convective from diffusive mass transport mechanisms in ionic liquids by redox pro-fluorescence microscopy
url http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP220100553
http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP220100553
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/93932