In Situ Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Characterization of Electrocatalysis with Different Nanostructures.

As energy demands increase, electrocatalysis serves as a vital tool in energy conversion. Elucidating electrocatalytic mechanisms using in situ spectroscopic characterization techniques can provide experimental guidance for preparing high-efficiency electrocatalysts. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) can provide rich spectral information for ultratrace surface species and is extremely well suited to studying their activity. To improve the material and morphological universalities, researchers have employed different kinds of nanostructures that have played important roles in the development of SERS technologies. Different strategies, such as so-called borrowing enhancement from shell-isolated modes and shell-isolated nanoparticle-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SHINERS)-satellite structures, have been proposed to obtain highly effective Raman enhancement, and these methods make it possible to apply SERS to various electrocatalytic systems. Here, we discuss the development of SERS technology, focusing on its applications in different electrocatalytic reactions (such as oxygen reduction reactions) and at different nanostructure surfaces, and give a brief outlook on its development. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Physical Chemistry, Volume 72 is April 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.