A review of high throughput and combinatorial electrochemistry

Many 21st century technological solutions are reliant on the development of new materials with improved properties, and increasingly on materials that can be optimised to perform more than one function. High-throughput and combinatorial methodologies are being used more frequently to discover and design improved materials in a time efficient manner for a variety of applications. A number of technological challenges involve the field of electrochemistry, such as battery development, electrocatalysis, photocatalysis, corrosion protection, sensor development, photovoltaics and light-emitting materials. This review focuses on the utilisation of high-throughput and combinatorial methods that have incorporated, or are associated with, electrochemical methods. In many cases electrochemical determinations are well-suited for high-throughput methodologies, enabling direct quantitative analysis of properties. However, in other circumstances electrochemical measurements are complicated by additional factors. Hence the limitations of high-throughput and combinatorial electrochemistry are also discussed within.