Recent Progress in Electrochemical Surface Science with Atomic and Molecular Levels

Until the mid 1980's, there had been only few in situ methods available for structural determination of an electrode surface in solution at atomic and monolayer levels. Nowadays, many powerful in situ techniques, such as electrochemical scanning tunneling microscopy (EC-STM), infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (IRAS), surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), and surface-enhanced infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (SEIRAS), second harmonic generation (SHG), sum frequency generation (SFG), and surface X-ray scattering (SXS) have been widely employed to characterize the electrode surfaces under potential control with atomic and/or molecular resolution. The object of this review is to highlight some of the progress on in situ methods at solid-liquid interface with atomic and molecular levels. Several selected topics are focused on, specifically adsorbed anions on metal surface, electrocatalysis of the carbon oxide oxidation and dioxygen reduction, and direct observation of single crystal electrode surfaces.