Multi-band Metasurface-Driven Surface-Enhanced Infrared Absorption Spectroscopy for Improved Characterization of in-Situ Electrochemical Reactions

Abstract

Surface-enhanced spectroscopy techniques are the method-of-choice to characterize adsorbed intermediates occurring during electrochemical reactions, which are crucial in realizing a green and sustainable future. Characterizing species with low coverage or short lifetimes has so far been limited by low signal enhancement. Recently, single-band metasurface-driven surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy (SEIRAS) has been pioneered as a promising technology to monitor a single vibrational mode during electrochemical CO oxidation. However, electrochemical reactions are complex, and their understanding requires the simultaneous monitoring of multiple adsorbed species in situ, hampering the adoption of nanostructured electrodes in spectro-electrochemistry. Here, we develop a multi-band nanophotonic-electrochemical platform that simultaneously monitors in situ multiple adsorbed species emerging during cyclic voltammetry scans by leveraging the high resolution offered by the reproducible nanostructuring of the working electrode. Specifically, we studied the electrochemical reduction of CO ₂ on a Pt surface and used two separately tuned metasurface arrays to monitor two adsorption configurations of CO with vibrational bands at ∼2030 and ∼1840 cm ^–1. Our platform provides a ∼40-fold enhancement in the detection of characteristic absorption signals compared to conventional broadband electrochemically roughened platinum films. A straightforward methodology is outlined starting with baselining our system in a CO-saturated environment and clearly detecting both configurations of adsorption. In contrast, during the electrochemical reduction of CO ₂ on platinum in K ₂CO ₃, CO adsorbed in a bridged configuration could not be detected. We anticipate that our technology will guide researchers in developing similar sensing platforms to simultaneously detect multiple challenging intermediates, with low surface coverage or short lifetimes.