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Nanoelectrodes |
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Disk-shaped nanoelectrodes can be fabricated by pulling a metal wire into a glass capillary with the help of a laser pipet puller. A relatively large nanoelectrode (metal core radius, 500 nm; glass radius, 2 µm) can be visualized by optical microscopy. |
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A smaller electrode (metal core radius, 120 nm; glass radius, 700 µm) can be imaged by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). |
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The combination of scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) and steady-state voltammetry can be used to characterize a nanoelectrode, which is too small to be imaged by SEM. The same tip radius value (46 nm) was obtained from the SECM current vs. distance curve (symbols – experiment, solid line – theory) and voltammogram (inset). |
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A nanoelectrode can be polished under video-microscopic control. Polishing is essential for making reproducible, quantitative measurements on the nanoscale. |
