Altered spatial resolution of scanning electrochemical microscopy induced by multifunctional dual barrel microelectrodes.

The nonuniform diffusion profile to the edge of many multifunctional microelectrodes has the potential to give rise to distortions in its imaging capability, reducing the spatial accuracy of the techniques they are used in. In this work, numerical simulations are used to predict these distortions for dual-barrel electrodes used in the combined feedback/generation-collection mode of scanning electrochemical microscopy imaging a model substrate. The sensitivity of this distortion to tip-substrate distance, electrolyte composition, and size and shape of a reactive substrate feature are discussed.