Understanding how voltage drives nanoscale electrocatalysts to initiate reactions is a fundamental scientific question. This is especially challenging when dealing with non-metallic electrocatalysts due to their low inherent carrier concentration, which leads to poor conductivity. When voltage is applied at the non-metal/solution interface, the situation becomes more complex than in the case of metal/solution interfaces.
One notable complexity is the significant potential drop within the non-metal, causing the surface potential to often deviate from the back potential. Analyzing thefor chemical reactions by applying classical metal models to non-metals can result in substantial inaccuracies.
Up until now, distinguishing the potential distribution between the nonmetallic catalyst and the EDL still relies on complex theoretical calculations. The actual potential drop across the semiconductor-electrolyte interface remains unknown, due to the lacks of in in-situ techniques. Moreover, conventional electrochemical characterization only provides the ensemble information for electrode materials, neglecting the spatial heterogeneity in the electronic structures of catalysts. Therefore, a spatially resolved in-situ characterization technique is highly needed.
This achievement addresses the experimental challenge of directly measuring the potential distribution at the non-metal/solution interface. The research findings highlight a notable difference in how the surface potential of semiconductors changes with
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