Solution-phase electrochemistry-nuclear magnetic resonance of small organic molecules

The hyphenation of electrochemistry and solution-phase nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry (EC-NMR) has made significant progress in several areas: dedicated NMR probes integrating the electrodes with minimal impact on spectral quality; different strategies regarding the relative placement of electrodes versus magnet/radiofrequency coils; solutions in aspects of the hyphenation, such as noise reduction strategies or H-1 NMR silent electrolytes; applications, e.g., studies of oxidative metabolism and electronic polymers. Because EC-NMR has moved from sporadic reports to systematic investigation in this decade, we summarize the developments in this nascent field. We focus on aspects related to hyphenation and highlight applications and a newer development: miniaturized EC-NMR. EC-NMR should become increasingly valuable for fundamental and applied studies related to electrochemical reactions, partly because it is highly complementary to other techniques, such as EC-electron spin-resonance spectrometry and EC-mass spectrometry. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.