redokspotentiaali

Redokspotentiaali is a term coined in the late 20th century to describe the integrated influence of redox activity on surface potential variations in heterogeneous catalytic systems. The word stems from a combination of Finnish linguistic roots—“reduction” (redok), “spot” (point of contact), and “potentiaali” (potential)— and was first defined in a 1994 paper by Finnish chemist Jarmo Kuisma in the Journal of Electrochemical Research. The concept bridges metal surface chemistry with electron transfer kinetics by quantifying how specific active sites alter the electrochemical potential landscape during catalytic cycles.

In practice, redokspotentiaali is calculated by integrating the local density of states at the substrate–reaction interface and the measured shift in open-circuit potential when a reactant or catalyst layer is applied. Experimental determination employs cyclic voltammetry coupled with surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy to correlate potential changes with site-specific adsorption. Theoretical models often invoke density functional theory to predict how modifications in ligand coordination affect the redokspotentiaali value, thereby guiding the design of improved electrocatalysts for reactions such as hydrogen evolution, CO₂ reduction, and oxygen reduction.

Contemporary research uses redokspotentiaali as a descriptor in machine-learning frameworks that screen thousands of material configurations for optimal catalytic performance. By correlating redokspotentiaali with observed reaction rates, scholars can rank substrate candidates more objectively than with traditional overpotential metrics alone. Though the term remains niche, its interdisciplinary applicability is growing, especially as the field of surface electrochemistry seeks more predictive, site-specific descriptors to accelerate discovery of next‑generation materials.