Scanning tunneling microscopy applications in electrochemistry - beyond imaging

Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) has gradually matured into a powerful t ool for imaging electrode surfaces in the electrochemical environment with atomic resolution. It has been used to elucidate numerous old puzzling stru ctural issues and to reveal many new interesting phenomena. As an imaging t ool, it will continue to contribute to the understanding of various electro chemical processes on electrode surfaces. STM is more than an imaging tool for structural characterizations, other important electrochemical applicati ons, such as probing electron transfer processes, fabricating nanostructure s and studying fast electrochemical kinetics, have also been actively pursu ed. These later unconventional applications are the focus of this discussio n. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.