Prof Steffi Krause, Dr Joe Biscoe, Dr Thomas Iskratsch and Dr Bo Zhou have been awarded an EPSRC New Horizon’s grant (EP/V047523/1) of £200k to develop new measurement technology for 3D photoelectrochemical imaging. Electrochemical imaging techniques are powerful tools for the investigation of topography, charge and catalytic activity of surfaces and can also be used for functional, label-free imaging of cellular processes with high resolution. Current electrochemical imaging technologies have been limited to probing thin films or the outer surfaces of materials or living cells.

The team of investigators and their collaborators Dr Owens (Cambridge University) and Prof Titirici (Imperial College) are looking forward to developing a photoelectrochemical imaging system that can be used for the mapping of electrochemical processes in three dimensions within porous electrode structures. The new technology is expected to aid the development of novel electrode materials for energy harvesting and storage devices and be suitable for in-situ 3D functional imaging in 3D tissue culture where complex physiological processes are investigated in an environment that resembles that of natural tissue, such as in organ-on-a chip devices.