Liquid-Phase transmission electron microscopy of oxygen redox reaction using electrocatalyst

Abstract

World widely, investigation of alternative energy has been performed aggressively because of the depletion issue of fossil fuel and environmental pollution. One of the most practical substitutes is fuel cell, which uses only eco-friendly source like oxygen and hydrogen gas. However, for popularization of fuel cell, improvement of efficiency is needed. Especially, oxygen redox reaction in alkaline medium should be researched more to enhance its low reactivity and reveal complicate reaction mechanism. Therefore, since electrocatalyst is a main key for reducing energy barrier and improving efficiency, various research methods to investigate on electrocatalyst are being developed. In this thesis, overall protocol of liquid-phase transmission electron microscopy of oxygen redox reaction using electrocatalyst is suggested. This protocol is focusing on the possibility of revealing accurate participating mechanism of catalyst during oxygen redox reaction by using real-time imaging. Through enlarging working electrode of conventional E-chip, it becomes successful to obtain enough size of electrical signal to distinguish. In the aspect of analysis, two different image processing ways are proposed which are suitable for each magnification, and correlation between two methods is also suggested in order to overcome demerits and emphasize each merit. Additionally, liquid dynamics during oxygen redox reaction is observed.