Recent Progresses of Electrochemical Surface Science ∼Importance of Surface Imaging with Atomic Scale∼

Abstract

In the electrochemical surface science during the past 20 years, in-situ electrochemical scanning tunneling microscopy (EC-STM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) have made significant contribution to understand various electrochemical processes with atomic scale. For examples, the underpotential deposition of copper, silver, and other metal ions; the specific adsorption of anions such as iodine and sulfate/bisulfate ions; electrochemical etching processes of metals and semiconductors and the molecular assembly of many organic molecules, such as metalloporphyrins, and metallophthalocyanines. Furthermore, we have recently developed a high resolution laser confocal microscope, combined with a differential interference contrast microscope, which enables to follows fast dynamic electrochemical processes at atomic height resolution in relatively large areas. It has been shown for the first time that single atomic steps of metals can be successfully seen by the newly developed optical microscope. Surface imaging techniques provide local pictures of electrode processes on the atomic scale, not averaged information in large areas.