Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS and RNS) produced by macrophages are essential for protecting a human body against bacteria and viruses. Micrometer-sized electrodes coated with Pt black have previously been used for selective and sensitive detection of ROS and RNS in biological systems. To determine ROS and RNS inside macrophages, one needs smaller (i.e., nanometer-sized) sensors. In this article, the methodologies have been extended to the fabrication and characterization of Pt/Pt black nanoelectrodes. Electrodes with the metal surface flush with glass insulator, most suitable for quantitative voltammetric experiments, were fabricated by electrodeposition of Pt black inside an etched nanocavity under the atomic force microscope control. Despite a nanometer-scale radius, the true surface area of Pt electrodes was sufficiently large to yield stable and reproducible responses to ROS and RNS in vitro. The prepared nanoprobes were used to penetrate cells and detect ROS and RNS inside macrophages. Weak and very short leaks of ROS/RNS from the vacuoles into the cytoplasm were detected, which a macrophage is equipped to clean within a couple of seconds, while higher intensity oxidative bursts due to the emptying of vacuoles outside persist on the time scale of tens of seconds.

This Perspective is an update to our more extensive survey of scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) published in 2007. During this time, the SECM field retained its momentum by expanding into new areas and meeting the emerging scientific and technological challenges. Here we focus on most prominent developments such as high-resolution imaging, investigation of structures and processes on the nanoscale, alternative energy applications, and new approaches to solving “real world” problems. The fabrication of novel SECM probes and related theoretical advances are also discussed.

In the context of emerging electric devices, the demand for advanced energy storage materials has intensified. These materials must encompass both surface and diffusion-driven charge storage mechanisms. While diffusion-driven reactions offer high capacitance by utilizing the bulk of the material, their effectiveness diminishes at higher discharge rates. Conversely, surface-controlled reactions provide rapid charge/discharge rates and high power density. To strike a balance between these attributes, we devised a tri-composite material, TiO₂/Carbon/MoS₂ (T10/MoS₂). This innovative design features a highly porous carbon core for efficient diffusion and redox-active MoS₂ nanosheets on the surface. Leveraging these characteristics, the T10/MoS₂ composite exhibited impressive specific capacitance (436 F/g at 5 mV/s), with a significant contribution from the diffusion-controlled process (82%). Furthermore, our symmetrical device achieved a notable energy density of ~ 50 Wh/kg at a power density of 1.3 kW/kg. This concept holds promise for extending the approach to other Metal–Organic Framework (MOF) structures, enabling enhanced diffusion-controlled processes in energy storage applications.

Three-dimensional nucleation and growth on active surface sites are fundamentally important initial stages of the electrodeposition of metals. Electrochemical studies of these processes are greatly complicated by the formation of multiple crystals interacting with each other. We investigated Ag electrodeposition on the surface of well-characterized, nanometer-sized Pt electrodes and measured the nucleation/growth kinetics of individual Ag crystals by a combination of nanoelectrochemistry and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Basic parameters, including the number of surface active sites, the kinetic time lag and the number of growing nuclei, were directly accessed from current transients and in situ AFM imaging. The existence of a single nucleation site on the surface of a 50 nm electrode persisting through several deposition/stripping cycles has been demonstrated.

Aromatic organic compounds can be used as electrode materials in rechargeable batteries and are expected to advance the development of both anode and cathode materials for sodium‐ion batteries (SIBs). However, most aromatic organic compounds assessed as anode materials in SIBs to date exhibit significant degradation issues under fast‐charge/discharge conditions and unsatisfying long‐term cycling performance. Now, a molecular design concept is presented for improving the stability of organic compounds for battery electrodes. The molecular design of the investigated compound, [2.2.2.2]paracyclophane‐1,9,17,25‐tetraene (PCT), can stabilize the neutral state by local aromaticity and the doubly reduced state by global aromaticity, resulting in an anode material with extraordinarily stable cycling performance and outstanding performance under fast‐charge/discharge conditions, demonstrating an exciting new path for the development of electrode materials for SIBs and other types of batteries.