Probing Electrified Liquid–Solid Interfaces with Scanning Electron Microscopy

authors	H.Guo, A.Yulaev, E.Strelcov, A.Tselev, Ch.Arble, A.E.Vladar, J.S.Villarrubia, A.Kolmakov
nationality	International
journal	ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
abstract	Electrical double layers play a key role in a variety of electrochemical systems. The mean free path of secondary electrons in aqueous solutions is on the order of a nanometer, making them suitable for probing ultrathin electrical double layers at solid–liquid electrolyte interfaces. Employing graphene as an electron-transparent electrode in a two-electrode electrochemical system, we show that the secondary electron yield of the graphene–liquid interface depends on the ionic strength and concentration of the electrolyte and the applied bias at the remote counter electrode. These observations have been related to polarization-induced changes in the potential distribution within the electrical double layer and demonstrate the feasibility of using scanning electron microscopy to examine and map electrified liquid–solid interfaces.
publisher	American Chemical Society
year published	2020
digital object identifier (doi)	10.1021/acsami.0c19634