Bridging the timescales in electrochemiluminescence: From electron-transfer kinetics to rational system design

Electrochemiluminescence (ECL) has become a premier analytical tool in clinical diagnostics, immunoassays, and nucleic acid testing due to its minimal optical background interference and precise controllability. However, the performance of ECL systems is fundamentally constrained by the complex interplay of physicochemical processes that span vast temporal scale.

To address these challenges, a team of scientists led by Yang Liu from Tsinghua University and Yacheng Shi from Zhejiang Normal University has published a comprehensive review in Nano Research. The study establishes a coherent kinetic framework to bridge these mismatched timescales and guide the rational design of high-performance ECL systems.

"The frequent mismatch among reaction rates leads to inefficient exciton utilization and signal instability," explained Prof. Yang Liu, a professor at the Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University. "Overcoming these limitations necessitates a holistic understanding that integrates kinetics across all relevant temporal domains."

The review systematically deconstructs the ECL cascade into three distinct kinetic modules: electron transfer, chemical reaction, and exciton emission. Based on this foundation, the researchers critically evaluated strategies to regulate kinetics at each stage:

• Electron Transfer: Strategies such as using conductive nanohybrids (e.g., MXenes) and engineering donor-acceptor frameworks to accelerate interfacial charge injection and bulk conductivity.
• Chemical Reaction: Utilizing nanoconfinement effects in porous frameworks and external stimuli like acoustic cavitation to modulate reaction flux and stabilize intermediates.
• Exciton Emission: Employing spin-state modulation and structural rigidification to suppress non-radiative decay and maximize quantum efficiency.

Beyond fundamental optimization, the review highlights how precise kinetic control translates into advanced applications. These include high-throughput multiplexed bioanalysis that avoids signal cross-talk, super-resolution imaging that breaks the optical diffraction limit, and dynamic information encryption based on temporal logic.

The team also provided a prospective outlook on the field, emphasizing the convergence of cross-mesoscale simulation, operando multimodal analysis, and artificial intelligence.

"By integrating kinetic phenomena into a unified perspective, we hope to offer a conceptual blueprint for developing next-generation ECL platforms with exceptional efficiency and spatiotemporal coherence," said Liu.

DOI Link:

https://doi.org/10.26599/NR.2025.94908368

About Nano Research

Nano Research is a peer-reviewed, open access, international and interdisciplinary research journal, sponsored by Tsinghua University and the Chinese Chemical Society, published by Tsinghua University Press on the platform SciOpen. It publishes original high-quality research and significant review articles on all aspects of nanoscience and nanotechnology, ranging from basic aspects of the science of nanoscale materials to practical applications of such materials. After 18 years of development, it has become one of the most influential academic journals in the nano field. Nano Research has published more than 1,000 papers every year from 2022, with its cumulative count surpassing 8,000 articles. In 2025 InCites Journal Citation Reports, its 2025 IF is 9.4 (8.3, 5 years), and it continues to be the Q1 area among the four subject classifications. Nano Research Award, established by Nano Research together with TUP and Springer Nature in 2013, and Nano Research Young Innovators (NR45) Awards, established by Nano Research in 2018, have become international academic awards with global influence.