Prospects for single-site interrogation using in situ multimodal electrochemical scanning probe techniques

New multimodal methodologies are required to ascertain detailed information that correlates spatially resolved electrochemical reactivity with composition and structural motifs. This strategy will allow a comprehensive understanding of single reacting sites and single entities within bulk electrodes. Electrochemical scanning probe microscopies (EC-SPM), with the inherent ability to resolve site-specific electrochemical heterogeneities, are the perfect platform to couple with techniques capable of resolving composition and structural information. Here we highlight the advantages of multimodal experiments, recent progress, and prospects toward pairing EC-SPMs simultaneously with vibrational spectroscopies, mass spectrometry and X-ray methods.