2-DIMENSIONAL IMAGING OF POTENTIAL WAVES IN ELECTROCHEMICAL SYSTEMS BY SURFACE-PLASMON MICROSCOPY

The potential dependence of resonance conditions for the excitation of surface plasmons was exploited to obtain two-dimensional images of th e potential distribution of an electrode with high temporal resolution . This method allows the study of spatiotemporal patterns in electroch emical systems. Potential waves traveling across the electrode with a speed on the order of meters per second were observed in the bistable regime of an oscillatory electrochemical reaction. This velocity is cl ose to that of excitation waves in nerve fibers and is far greater tha n the velocity of reaction-diffusion waves observed in other chemical systems.