Opto-Electrochemical Spectroscopy

Abstract

Opto-electrochemistry is the state of the art and technology of not only imaging surfaces of a condensed matter, i.e., solid metal, submerged in aqueous solutions, but also, the science of measuring electrochemical properties of the condensed matter by solely light. In the present investigation, holographic interferometry was utilized for the first time to determine the rate change of the electrical resistance of aluminium samples during the initial stage of anodisation processes in aqueous solution. In fact, because the resistance values in this investigation were obtained by holographic interferometry, electromagnetic method rather than electronic method, the abrupt rate change of the resistance was called electrical resistance–emission spectroscopy. The anodisation process of the aluminium samples was carried out by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in different sulphuric acid concentrations (1.0–2.5% H2SO4) at room temperature. In the meantime, the real time holographic interferometry was used to determine the difference between the electrical resistance of two subsequent values, dR, as a function of the elapsed time of the EIS experiment for the aluminium samples in 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5% H2SO4 solutions. The electrical resistance–emission spectra of the present investigation represent a detailed picture of not only the rate change of the electrical resistance throughout the anodisation processes but also the spectra represent the rate change of the growth of the oxide films on the aluminium samples in different solutions. As a result, a new spectrometer was developed based on the combination of the holographic interferometry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy for studying in situ the electrochemical behavior of metals in aqueous solutions. Keywords: Holographic interferometry; Electrical resistance; Anodisation process; Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS); Sulphuric acid; Aluminium.