In situ AFM study of proton-assisted electrochemical oxidation/reduction of microparticles of organic dyes

In situ atomic force microscopy (AFM) images of crystals of organic dyes alizarin, indigo and morin have been monitored during the course of their solid-state electrochemical oxidation/reduction in contact with aqueous acetate buffer. Such images indicate that proton-assisted reduction and oxidation processes are localized in a shallow layer in the vicinity of the particle/electrolyte interface, in agreement with expectances from the Lovric and Scholz model with significantly restricted proton diffusion across the solids.