Abstract

The theories to describe the rate at which electrochemical reactions proceed do not consider explicitly the dimensionality or the occupancy of the energy levels of nanostructured electrodes. Consequently, the electrical current that may be obtained from a nanoscale electrochemical system is sensitive to the dimensionality of the electrode and the density of states (DOS). Considering the DOS of lower dimensional systems, such as two-dimensional graphene, one-dimensional nanotubes, or zero-dimensional quantum dots, yields a distinct variation of the current-voltage characteristics. Such aspects go beyond conventional Arrhenius theory-based kinetics which are often used in experimental interpretation. The obtained insights may be adapted to nanostructure-based energy storage systems incorporating batteries, electrochemical capacitors, and related energy transduction mechanisms.