Capillary-assisted bipolar electrochemistry: A focused mini review

A bipolar electrode is quite unconventional as it behaves simultaneously as an anode and a cathode in contrast to a classic electrochemical setup where the electron transfer reactions are promoted on two different electrodes. The driving force is the polarization potential established between the solution and the bipolar electrode, that allows a wireless electrochemical addressing. In the past decade or so, bipolar electrochemistry has encountered a remarkable renewal of interest with extraordinary potentialities ranging from materials science to analytical chemistry. For practical reasons, bipolar electrochemistry experiments are very often performed in handmade electrochemical cells comprising tubes or capillaries. This review is focused on specific applications based on such types of experimental setups, from the macroscale where the tube acts only as an ordinary container down to the microscale where specific properties of the capillary come also into play.