Spatially-resolved multicolor bipolar electrochemiluminescence

•Simultaneous ECL emissions of different luminophores were spatially resolved.•Control of the position of the ECL-emitting domains•Green and red ECL colors are electrogenerated as well as a resulting yellow color.•Selective detection of ECL luminophores in a multi-component mixture

Here we describe a new aspect of multicolor potential-resolved electrochemiluminescence (ECL) based on bipolar electrochemistry (BPE). BPE involves a potential gradient established along a polarized conducting object which thus acts as a bipolar electrode (BE). The resulting driving force can induce electron-transfer reactions, necessary for processes such as ECL occurring at different longitudinal locations along the same BE. In this work, we exploit the entire spatial domain where anodic polarization occurs to demonstrate, for the first time, how the potential gradient along a BE may be used to simultaneously resolve the emissions of ECL-active luminophores with differing oxidation potentials. The control of both size and position of the ECL-emitting domains was achieved by tuning the applied electric field. Multicolor light-emission was analyzed in detail to demonstrate spatial and spectral resolution of a solution containing different emitters.

Graphical abstractDownload high-res image (119KB)Download full-size image