{"title":"Time: The potentially powerful, often-overlooked variable in electrochemical sensing of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances","authors":"Samantha C. Cullom , Jeffrey E. Dick","doi":"10.1016/j.coelec.2025.101726","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.coelec.2025.101726","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Modern electrochemistry places a heavy emphasis on the importance of thermodynamic measurements for environmental sensing. While most electrochemical sensors require some type of binding mechanism, analytes do not bind to sensors instantaneously; the binding process takes time, suggesting that we must examine reaction kinetics as well. With emerging environmental pollutants of concern, such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), electrochemists must consider the kinetic relationship between the electrochemical sensor and the analyte. Various types of environmental electrochemical sensors, such as enzymes, antibodies, aptamers, and molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs), exist. Each type of sensor can be used in the environment, but MIPs have recently demonstrated strong potential to qualitatively and quantitatively detect and identify PFAS species at the earliest onset of environmental contamination. Additionally, the mathematical and experimental approaches to MIP binding have room to expand beyond the thermodynamic isotherm models and into a time-dependent kinetic model.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11028,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Electrochemistry","volume":"53 ","pages":"Article 101726"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144780048","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Reactor designs for pH-swing electrochemical CO2 capture","authors":"Yuesheng Zhang, Haoxiang Bai, Yuhang Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.coelec.2025.101731","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.coelec.2025.101731","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>CO<sub>2</sub> capture plays a pivotal role in global carbon emission management, strongly impacting the economic feasibility of downstream carbon utilization and storage. Electrochemical CO<sub>2</sub> capture provides a platform for efficiently removing CO<sub>2</sub> from the atmosphere and industrial flue gases. When operating based on the pH-swing mechanism, the process can be highly O<sub>2</sub>-tolerant and adapted to both small-scale facilities and large industrial plants. In recent years, efforts have been therefore made to improve the efficiency of pH-swing electrochemical CO<sub>2</sub> capture. This Review summarizes high-performance pH-swing CO<sub>2</sub> capture reactors and highlights the recent advances and remaining challenges. It provides an overview of the system's working principles and performance metrics, along with an outlook on paths to low costs, high durability, and scale-up development. This paper aims to capture insights that can develop pH-swing electrochemical CO<sub>2</sub> capture into a key component of future carbon management strategies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11028,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Electrochemistry","volume":"53 ","pages":"Article 101731"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144780047","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nishi Gondhiya, Abd Ur Rehman, Daniel Andreescu, Silvana Andreescu
{"title":"Portable electrochemical sensors for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances: Design, challenges, and opportunities for field deployment","authors":"Nishi Gondhiya, Abd Ur Rehman, Daniel Andreescu, Silvana Andreescu","doi":"10.1016/j.coelec.2025.101725","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.coelec.2025.101725","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The widespread presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the environment presents a complex global challenge due to their persistence, resistance to degradation, and harmful effects. Electrochemical sensors offer the sensitivity needed to detect PFAS at regulatory limits and show promise for large-scale environmental monitoring without the need for costly laboratory equipment. This review highlights recent advances in electrochemical sensing technologies and their potential as field-deployable devices for rapid screening and on site PFAS detection. Examples include sensor platforms based on redox-active reporters, molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs), redox dyes, metal organic frameworks (MOFs), covalent organic frameworks (COFs), nanoparticle impacts, and nanobubble and nanopore technologies, coupled with direct or indirect signal transduction strategies. We discuss promising sensor designs and detection mechanisms and outline the key challenges and future directions needed to advance their practical deployment in environmental monitoring applications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11028,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Electrochemistry","volume":"53 ","pages":"Article 101725"},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144711093","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jéssica Alves Nogueira, Lucas Dias Germano, Leonardo Domenico De Angelis, Susana Inés Córdoba de Torresi
{"title":"The role of water and cations in shaping electrified interfaces: Insights from Raman and FTIR spectroscopy","authors":"Jéssica Alves Nogueira, Lucas Dias Germano, Leonardo Domenico De Angelis, Susana Inés Córdoba de Torresi","doi":"10.1016/j.coelec.2025.101701","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.coelec.2025.101701","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A detailed understanding of the structural dynamics of water at the electrode/electrolyte interface is essential for deciphering and improving electrocatalyst performance. This review highlights innovative uses of Raman and Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy to probe interfacial water under electrochemical conditions. Moving beyond conventional approaches, we discuss strategies that evaluate the influence of electrolyte composition and external stimuli—such as light irradiation—on the dynamics of interfacial species. These <em>in situ</em> techniques uncover changes in water orientation and coordination during critical reactions like CO<sub>2</sub> reduction and oxygen evolution. In alkaline environments, cations significantly influence interfacial dynamics: their hydration shells disrupt hydrogen bonding networks, modulating water adsorption, local electric fields, proton transport, and the stabilization of reaction intermediates. The creative application of advanced spectroscopic techniques to evaluate the effects of electrolytes, applied potentials, and/or irradiation on water structure provides novel insights that are reshaping our understanding of the electrified interface.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11028,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Electrochemistry","volume":"52 ","pages":"Article 101701"},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144089846","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Electrochemical analysis in micrometer and nanometer-sized droplets on a surface: From static toward dynamic","authors":"Liang Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.coelec.2025.101704","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.coelec.2025.101704","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This mini-review discusses about the recent progress in electrochemical analysis of micrometer- and nanometer-sized droplets. The static droplet on a support is only briefly mentioned, with the focus placed on dynamic droplets that hit, land, and evolve on electrodes. The analysis of hitting droplets generally follows the norm of single-entity electrochemistry, which tracks collision events between the droplet and the electrodes. The landing droplet approach confines the electrochemical measurements in the area of droplet/sample contact. In general, we emphasize that the droplet is not a solid object; it may dynamically deform before, during, and after hitting or landing on the electrode surface, as governed by interfacial tensions. These tensions can be affected by the chemical reactions occurring at the droplet/electrode or droplet/environment interface, which is often underestimated. Thus, unifying the treatment of shape and composition changes considering conjugated physical and chemical effect would be highly desired in future.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11028,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Electrochemistry","volume":"52 ","pages":"Article 101704"},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144123308","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tiantian Lei , Yifeng Xu , Yao Li , Liyun Huang , Li Ma , Daiqiang Si , Kairui Wang , Fengmei Wang , Jiquan Liu , Lin Lei , Liping Cao , Ying Yang
{"title":"Recent advances in all-iron flow batteries (AIFBs)","authors":"Tiantian Lei , Yifeng Xu , Yao Li , Liyun Huang , Li Ma , Daiqiang Si , Kairui Wang , Fengmei Wang , Jiquan Liu , Lin Lei , Liping Cao , Ying Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.coelec.2025.101702","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.coelec.2025.101702","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The cost of active material for all-vanadium flow batteries is high, so that all-iron flow batteries (AIFBs) may be a good choice for decreasing the cost of redox flow batteries. However, there are some problems such as iron dendrite and hydrogen evolution in acidic AIFBs, and hydrolysis and precipitation of iron hydroxide in alkaline AIFBs. This review reveals the underlying causes of these problems, and summarizes recent researchers’ solutions to these problems. In addition, this review discusses the effect of different ligands on the electrode potential of negolytes and raises prospects for the future trends of research on the AIFBs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11028,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Electrochemistry","volume":"52 ","pages":"Article 101702"},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144083871","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Aruchamy Gowrisankar , Vishal Pandurang Bhandigare , Kyungsoon Park , Byung-Kwon Kim
{"title":"Single-entity electrochemistry: Unveiling nanoparticle behavior with advanced scanning probe electrochemical techniques","authors":"Aruchamy Gowrisankar , Vishal Pandurang Bhandigare , Kyungsoon Park , Byung-Kwon Kim","doi":"10.1016/j.coelec.2025.101710","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.coelec.2025.101710","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The advancement of sophisticated electroanalytical techniques has attracted significant interest in investigating the fundamental properties of individual nanoparticles. This review highlights recent developments in scanning probe microscopy (SPM), including scanning electrochemical cell microscopy (SECCM), electrochemical scanning tunneling microscopy (EC-STM), and electrochemical atomic force microscopy (EC-AFM). These SPM techniques provide complementary insights into nanoparticle size, morphology, electronic structure, and surface reactivity. SECCM enables localized electrochemical analysis with high spatial resolution, while EC-STM and EC-AFM facilitate nanoscale imaging and the identification of active sites involved in electrocatalytic reactions. One of the most promising strategies involves integrating these techniques to establish structure–activity correlations at the single-nanoparticle level, thereby enhancing characterization capabilities. We demonstrate how hybrid characterization techniques can be employed to capture in situ information during complex electrochemical processes at the electrode–electrolyte interface. Specifically, we highlight the monitoring and measurement of local electrochemical processes using high-spatial-resolution imaging in correlation with single-entity electrochemistry techniques.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11028,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Electrochemistry","volume":"52 ","pages":"Article 101710"},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144271840","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Victor Y. Yukuhiro , Alan J. Gibson , Elton Sitta , Angel Cuesta , Pablo S. Fernández
{"title":"Effect of cations on the electro-oxidation of alcohols and polyols on Pt: Activity, selectivity, and mechanistic insights","authors":"Victor Y. Yukuhiro , Alan J. Gibson , Elton Sitta , Angel Cuesta , Pablo S. Fernández","doi":"10.1016/j.coelec.2025.101705","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.coelec.2025.101705","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Understanding the role of cations in the electro-oxidation of alcohols and polyols (EOAP) on Pt electrodes is essential for optimizing electrocatalytic processes in energy conversion and chemical production. This review explores how cations modulate activity, selectivity, and dynamic behavior during the EOAP. Larger cations, such as K<sup>+</sup>, enhance reaction rates and facilitate C–C bond cleavage, whereas smaller cations like Li<sup>+</sup> promote CO<sub>ad</sub> oxidation and the formation of inactive Pt oxides. The interplay between cations, adsorbed intermediates, and the electrode surface is analysed using complementary electrochemical and in situ spectroscopic techniques, covering hypotheses proposed to explain these observations. Despite progress, fundamental questions remain regarding the microscopic origins of cation effects, including the relative stabilities of key intermediates, how these stabilities influence their formation and oxidation, and ultimately how they govern the deactivation of Pt surfaces via the formation of inactive Pt oxides.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11028,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Electrochemistry","volume":"52 ","pages":"Article 101705"},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144123309","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}