A dual infrared frequency comb spectrometer with heterodyne detection has been used to perform time-resolved electrochemical attenuated total reflectance surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy (ATR-SEIRAS). In collaboration with the Canadian Light Source and IRsweep, the desorption of a monolayer of a pyridine derivative with 10 μs time resolution and a detection limit of 5% of a monolayer was demonstrated. The applications of the method are potentially immense for the study of short lived adsorbed species during electrocatalysis. You can access the pre-print (https://harvest.usask.ca/handle/10388/12909) in the UofS open access repository.Analytical Chemistry.(https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.analchem.0c00260).

Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectromicroscopy was used to study individual living cells of three closely-related species of the green algal genus Chlamydomonas. Three types of spectral variation were observed between individual cells within a single culture, as well as between different cultures: variation around a mean, individual outliers, and the presence of subpopulations. By understanding and controlling this variation, we were able to spectroscopically differentiate between the three closely-related species. Spectral differences were confirmed using principal component analysis, leading to an understanding of the biochemical differences between species. This work highlights the additional information obtained by studying individual cells, and has implications for more traditional bulk measurements.Analyst, (https://doi.org/10.1039/D0AN01386B )

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