Method of spatially controlling catalysis of a chemical reaction
First Claim
1. A method of spatially controlling catalysis of a chemical reaction at a surface of a substrate, comprising:
- (a) providing a substrate having two or more independently addressable electrodes at or in close proximity to its surface;
(b) applying a first potential to one or more of said independently addressable electrodes, wherein said first potential is sufficient to electrochemically generate an active catalyst from an inactive catalyst proximal to said one or more independently addressable electrodes; and
(c) simultaneously applying a second potential to any of said independently addressable electrodes for which said first potential was not applied, wherein said second potential is sufficient to deactivate any of said active catalyst that has diffused from the proximity of said one or more independently addressable electrodes at said first potential.
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Abstract
The present invention provides a method of spatially controlling catalysis of a chemical reaction at a surface of a substrate. With this method, a substrate is provided with two or more independently addressable electrodes at or near the surface of the substrate. Next, a first potential is applied to one or more of the electrodes. This first potential is sufficient to electrochemically generate an active catalyst from an inactive catalyst proximal to any electrode(s) that are at this first potential. Simultaneously, a second potential is applied to all other electrodes. This second potential serves to deactivate any active catalyst that may diffuse from the proximity of the electrode(s) that are at the first potential. This method results in spatially selective activation of catalyst at the electrode(s) that are at the first potential, and hence spatial localization of a chemical reaction catalyzed by the active catalyst.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A method of spatially controlling catalysis of a chemical reaction at a surface of a substrate, comprising:
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(a) providing a substrate having two or more independently addressable electrodes at or in close proximity to its surface;
(b) applying a first potential to one or more of said independently addressable electrodes, wherein said first potential is sufficient to electrochemically generate an active catalyst from an inactive catalyst proximal to said one or more independently addressable electrodes; and
(c) simultaneously applying a second potential to any of said independently addressable electrodes for which said first potential was not applied, wherein said second potential is sufficient to deactivate any of said active catalyst that has diffused from the proximity of said one or more independently addressable electrodes at said first potential. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification