Plasma electrochemistry: development of a reference electrode material for high temperature plasma.

This report describes the development of a high temperature reference electrode material for gas phase electrochemistry investigations. The electrode is constructed by careful assessment of different metal/metal oxide materials and operational stability in flame electrolyte medium. This will enable reliable dynamic electrochemistry investigations into redox reactions at the solid/gas interface, free of any solvent defined potential window restrictions.

Dynamic electrochemistry in flame plasma electrolyte.

Chemistry in flames: Dynamic electrochemistry in the gas phase is described by considering the ionized medium of a flame as an electrolyte (see picture). This study opens up the possibility of accessing redox reactions that are outside the potential limits set by the solvent in conventional liquid-phase electrochemistry.

Electrochemistry in flames.

Flames and combustion science are well established fields having contributed to the foundations of engineering and chemistry and led to remarkable achievements in our 'industrial age'. The aim of this paper however is to highlight the electrochemical properties of flames, which are known to a lesser extent. First a historical account on the study on flames is given, followed by a general discussion on the formation and properties of common flames. The core of the discussion deals with the presence of charged species in flames, or else their plasma nature. It is this property that allows us to treat flames as conductive media and even develop flame electrochemical systems that yield voltages in the same fashion as standard batteries. Due to their very interesting plasma properties, therefore, flames can be incorporated with already developed electrochemical methodologies and generate new research areas of great potential.