Researchers at Nanjing University and Yangzhou University developed an optical microscopy technique to image electrocatalytic nitrate reduction at the single-particle level, according to a paper published in Nature Communications on September 5, 2026.
Electrocatalytic nitrate reduction offers a method for removing nitrate pollutants from water and generating nitrogen chemicals. Conventional electrochemical measurements rely on ensemble-averaged signals, which mask dynamic interfacial processes occurring on individual catalyst particles, particularly under realistic dilute conditions.
To evaluate these local dynamics, the research team used operando electrochemiluminescence microscopy on copper (111) nanosheets, which served as a model catalyst. The technique converts optical responses triggered by the reaction into spatially resolved descriptors of nitrate adsorption and intermediate formation across catalyst surfaces.
Time-dependent optical measurements tracked the generation and diffusion of nitrite, an intermediate in the nitrate reduction pathway. The resulting kinetic maps revealed marked kinetic differences between individual catalyst particles. Correlative imaging of intermediate diffusion showed that interparticle coupling alters catalytic performance by changing how intermediates accumulate and how interfacial mass transport behaves in dilute nitrate solutions.
The study was submitted on May 5, 2026, and accepted on August 24, 2026. Authors Zhichen Zhang, Zejing Xing, Xiaodan Gou, Jinyang Zhuang, Yuhan Zhao, Zixuan Chen, Jun-Jie Zhu, and Wenlei Zhu carried out the research across the School of Chemistry, School of Environment, and two State Key Laboratories at Nanjing University, collaborating with Cheng Ma of Yangzhou University. Financial support came from the National Natural Science Foundation of China under grant 22374125, the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities under grant KG202510, the Jiangsu Young Talent Lifting Project, and Nanjing University laboratory funds. The authors reported no competing interests.
