Photoinduced electrochemiluminescence: mechanistic insights and emerging applications

Abstract

Photoinduced electrochemiluminescence (PECL) has emerged as a light-electrochemical emission platform that integrates photogenerated charge carriers with electrochemiluminescent reaction pathways, enabling optical modulation and readout of interfacial electrochemical processes. By coupling optical excitation with redox chemistry at photoactive interfaces, PECL provides access to operational regimes beyond conventional electrochemiluminescence (ECL), including reduced-bias operation, anti-Stokes emission, and spatially confined activation. Recent advances have demonstrated that PECL can transduce photoinduced carrier dynamics into photon emission, offering mechanistic insight into energy conversion processes at semiconductor and hybrid interfaces, while its integration with optical microscopy enables high-throughput, wide-field imaging of photoelectrochemical activity from individual nanostructures to single cells. Moreover, the development of wireless and all-optical PECL architectures can expand its applicability toward biointerfaces, point-of-care testing, and portable analytical platforms. This review summarizes the fundamental principles, mechanistic frameworks, and emerging applications of PECL, and outlines future directions for improving spatiotemporal resolution, guiding photocatalyst design, and advancing bioanalytical and diagnostic technologies.