Can surface Raman spectroscopy be a general technique for surface science and electrochemistry?

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy has almost been restricted to the study of only three noble metals of Au, Ag and Cu for two decades. Recently, a new confocal Raman microscope and special surface pretreatments have allowed the acquisition of high-quality surface Raman spectra of organic and inorganic molecules adsorbed on bare Pt, Ni, Co, Fe, Pd, Rh, Ru and Si electrodes over a wide applied potential range for the first time. The present results demonstrate several advantages of in situ surface Raman spectroscopy that could probably make it a general technique widely used in surface science and electrochemistry.