K. Borgwarth et al., APPLICATIONS OF SCANNING ULTRA MICRO ELECTRODES FOR STUDIES ON SURFACE CONDUCTIVITY, Electrochimica acta, 40(10), 1995, pp. 1455-1460
Applications of the constant distance mode recently discovered for Sca
nning Electrochemical Microscopy (SECM) are presented. The new mode en
ables the separate acquisition of a sample's electrochemical and morph
ological information by detecting the faradaic current of the scanning
probe. The morphology can be determined within fractions of a micron
by bringing the tip close to the sample at high speed at varying later
al positions. Convective effects increase the current in the sample's
vicinity. To study the electrochemical properties laterally resolved,
one compensates the morphological influence by moving the tip at a con
stant distance from the surface's structure. The advantageous use of t
he new mode is proven by scans of a homogeneous platinum sheet and a g
lass substrate covered by a derivative of poly-terthiophene spots. The
comparison with the experimental results obtained by the conventional
constant height mode explains the progress of the new constant distan
ce mode.