Monitoring of electrochemical reactions on different electrode configurations by ambient mass spectrometry

Monitoring of electrochemical (EC) reactions is crucial to obtain efficient, fast and inexpensive reactions for synthesis or analysis. Traditional characterizations by cyclic voltammetry or spectroscopic techniques are usually limited by the lack of detailed structural information on analytes. Without any sample pretreatment, ambient mass spectrometry (AMS) can directly provide structural information of multiple analytes in situ. The monitoring of EC reactions by AMS provides potentials for detecting short-lived intermediates to examine reaction mechanisms and discover new reactions. Therefore, these developments will give significant contributions to fields including biological chemistry, electrocatalysis, organic synthesis or battery fabrication. In this review, in light of the different configurations of electrodes (e.g., rotating waterwheel electrodes and ultramicroelectrodes) for different EC reactions, various designs of EC-coupled electrospray ionization-based AMS systems are summarized. In addition, the advantages, limitations and proposed suggestions for future developments are addressed. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The monitoring of EC reactions by ambient mass spectrometry (AMS) provides structural information of analytes, potential for detecting short-lived intermediates, examining reaction mechanisms, and discovering new reactions, contributing significantly to fields including biological chemistry, electrocatalysis, organic synthesis or battery fabrication. Various designs of EC-coupled electrospray ionization-based AMS systems, addressing advantages, limitations, and proposed suggestions for future developments, are summarized in this review.