P2.5 Time-resolved UV-vis Spectroelectrochemistry
Supervisors:
Topic and overall goal:
Time-resolved UV-vis spectroelectrochemistry (TR-UV-vis-SEC) is a powerful tool to investigate the processes taking place in electrocatalysis and to obtain insight into the mechanisms. However, in conventional TR-UV-vis-SEC the temporal resolution and the detection of short-lived species generated at the working electrode is limited by the volume segment, which is probed by the light beam of the spectroscopic instrument, and related diffusion effects. It is therefore difficult to observe species with a lifetime in the millisecond range or below. Based on literature-known approaches that have been used for TR-SEC analysis of stable electrogenerated species, we want to develop a setup that can detect short-lived species in a very confined range close to the electrode. The setup will then be used to analyze the cathodic activation of TM catalysts and the cathodic conversion of bis(alkoxycarbonyl) and bis(hydroxycarbonyl) complexes, which are investigated in TP2. The achieved developments will ultimately provide new insights into the electrocatalytic systems studied in TP2.