2006 Volume 74 Issue 1 Pages 19-27
Since its invention by Binnig and Rohrer, scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) was immediately established as an invaluable and powerful surface analysis technique with atomic resolution in ultra-high vacuum (UHV). Belatedly, but assuredly, developments in STM operated at solid-liquid interfaces led to its valuation as arguably the premier technique for atomic-level surface structural investigations of chemical processes taking place at solid-liquid interfaces. It has been demonstrated that in situ STM makes it possible to monitor, under reaction conditions, a wide variety of electrode processes such as the adsorption of inorganic and organic species, the reconstruction of electrode surfaces, the dissolution and deposition of metals and semiconductors.