Structure-function relationships in heterogeneous catalysts have long been a topic of profound interest and intense research.

An integral part of designing and developing new catalyst materials is understanding the correlation between surface morphology and catalytic activity on different length scales. In particular spatially resolved characterization of catalysts under reaction conditions remains a fundamental challenge.

Scanning electrochemical microscopy offers a unique means with which to map the chemical and electrochemical activity of surfaces in the liquid phase. In this work we demonstrate the use of such scanning probe microscopy in electrocatalyst characterisation and explore its potential application to the measurement of heterogeneous catalyst activity in-situ.

This poster won the 2011 NPL Science  Poster Fair Award for best science content