Scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) has evolved from an electrochemical specialist tool to a broadly used electroanalytical surface technique, which has experienced exciting developments for nanoscale electrochemical studies in recent years. Several companies now offer commercial instruments, and SECM has been used in a broad range of applications. SECM research is frequently interdisciplinary, bridging areas ranging from electrochemistry, nanotechnology, and materials science to biomedical research. Although SECM is considered a modern electroanalytical technique, it appears that less attention is paid to so-called analytical figures of merit, which are essential also in electroanalytical chemistry. Besides instrumental developments, this review focuses on aspects such as reliability, repeatability, and reproducibility of SECM data. The review is intended to spark discussion within the community on this topic, but also to raise awareness of the challenges faced during the evaluation of quantitative SECM data.
PSS) are used for single cell force measurements in mouse fibroblasts and single cell interactions are investigated as a function of the applied potential.
Platinum (Pt) has beenknown as a catalyst material for vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) synthesis since the mid 1960s with the potential to grow electronic grade silicon nanowires (SiNWs). In contrast to gold-based growth, Pt-catalyzed SiNW synthesis has rarely been studied, most likely due to higher synthesis temperatures and the formation of multiple Pt silicide phases. Here we present the growth of SiNWs from a Pt catalyst deposited by a focused ion or electron beam, which opens new strategies for the assembly of Pt-catalyzed SiNW-based devices, as well as SiNW growth from Pt nanoparticles and thinfilms. We show that single-crystalline SiNWs exhibit either the well-known catalyst tip or a polycrystalline silicon tip so far not reported. The local Pt concentration was found to be one key parameter triggering the growth mode. The proposed growth model for both types of SiNWs is based on a solid-state silicide-mediated crystallization rather than VLS. The discussion of the growth modes is supported by a variation of several growth parameters and SiNW synthesis using the substrate materials silicon nitride, singlecrystalline silicon, fused silica, and sapphire.
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