Electrochemical Quartz Crystal Nanobalance

Abstract

The method of piezoelectric microgravimetry (nanogravimetry) using an electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM) or nanobalance (EQCN) can be considered as a novel and much more sensitive version of electrogravimetry. The EQCN technique has become a widely used technique in several areas of electrochemistry, electroanalytical chemistry, bioelectrochemistry, etc. [1–10]. Obviously, mass changes occurring during adsorption, sorption, electrosorption, electrodeposition, or spontaneous deposition can be followed, which is very helpful for the elucidation of reaction mechanism via identification of the species accumulated on the surface. These investigations include metal and alloy deposition, underpotential deposition, electroplating, synthesis of conducting polymers by electropolymerization, adsorption of biologically active materials, and analytical determination of small ions and biomolecules. Of course, the opposite processes, i.e., spontaneous dissolution, electrodissolution, corrosion, can also be studied. Electrochemical oscillations, in which the formation and oxidation of chemisorbed molecular fragments play a determining role, have been studied, too. The majority of the investigations have been devoted to ion and solvent transport associated with the redox transformations of electrochemically active polymers. Similar studies have been carried out regarding polynuclear surface layers such as metal hexacyanometalates as well as inorganic and organic microcrystals of different compositions.