Spectroelectrochemistry of Electrochromic and electroluminescent substances shows a strong correlation between electrochemical reactions on electrodes and changes in absorbance or luminescence adjacent to the electrode. This was demonstrated by the well-known substances methylviologen and tris (2,2’-bipyridyl) dichloro-ruthenium [Ru (bpy)₃]²⁺. The experimental setup used a conventional potent iostat connected to a fiber spectrometer. Different commercial spectroelectrochemical cells were used: A thin-film absorption cell with a platinum mesh working electrode and as pecular reflection/transmission cell with different screen-printed electrodes. For luminescence measurements, a conventional quartz cuvette with the platinum mesh electrode was used. All cells were inserted into commercial cell holders with connectors for optical fibers. Spectroelectrochemistry becomes increasingly important as an analytical method. In addition, the empirically observed didactical problems of misunderstanding electrochemical electrode reactions can be overcome by visualizing the electrode processes in spectroelectrochemical measurements. The procedures followed in these experiments were designed for typical undergraduate students in electrochemistry.

second-year under graduate, laboratory instruction, physical chemistry, hands-on learning/ manipulatives, electrochemistry, spectroscopy