Imaging SPR for detection of local electrochemical processes on patterned surfaces

Imaging surface plasmon resonance (iSPR) was used in conjunction with voltammetry to investigate the possibility of detecting local electrochemical processes in situ on chemically modified electrodes. More specifically, a pattern of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of thiocholesterol and 1-hexadecanethiol was microcontact printed on gold substrates, and the blocking characteristics on different parts of the pattern were investigated. The SPR images reflected the changes in the refractive index over the working electrode due to electrochemical processes, which in the present case showed the ability of the SAMs to impede faradaic reactions. The results show that differences in packing densities or porosity of SAMs in different regions of a patterned surface can be visualized as electrochemical images using iSPR. The strength of utilizing an optical detection method for electrochemical characterization lies in the ability to achieve lateral resolution in real-time. Electrochemical reactions can also be used to enhance the contrast in SPR images of thin layers of components with similar thicknesses and refractive indices.