Laboratory of Electrochemical Systems Engineering

Our primary research interests is in the understanding of fundamental catalytic processes, particularly with respect to energy and chemical transformations for sustainable energy applications.

Projects in catalyst and device design for CO₂ reduction

Despite the vast interest in electrochemical CO₂ reduction technologies, state-of-the-art materials require large overpotentials and show poor selectivity. Among the various products that can be generated from CO₂, liquid fuels containing more than 2 carbon atoms (C2+, i.e., ethanol, propanol, butanol) are of great interest as they can be easily stored, transported and transformed back into electricity on demand or combusted as part of gasoline mixtures. The reduction of CO₂ to ethanol and propanol, however, requires the breaking and formation of multiple bonds and the transfer of 12 to 18 electron-proton pairs, all of this without cleaving the last C-OH bond. Cu is the only element known to catalyze these reactions and initial research projects are motivated towards the fundamental understanding of how to tune the selectivity of copper-based electrodes towards more energy dense molecules, leading to applied research for the creation of devices which could open opportunities for producing renewable fuels from CO₂.

Projects towards increasing the understanding of electrode/electrolyte interfaces during catalysis

The transfer of charges across the electrode/electrolyte interphase is poorly understood and is the next frontier in the design of electrocatalysts for energy applications. Although the concentration of species can be determined in the bulk of the electrolyte, the concentration of ions, substrates and products near the surface of an electrode during operation is unknown. Surface coverages, absorption energies and reaction rates on the surface of an electrode are directly related to the concentration of species in the electrode/electrolyte interface. Determining the concentration of species near the surface of the electrode is particularly relevant for electrochemical reactions involving disolved gas substrates (i.e. H₂, O₂ , CO₂, CH₄ ) and diluted protons in near neutral pH. Our group combines theory, electrochemistry, and operando spectroscopy in order to generate valuable insights into the concentration of species near the surface of an electrode and the description of reaction mechanisms at the electrode/electrolyte interphase.

Projects in catalyst and device design for electrochemical C-H bond activation

The direct partial oxidation of methane to methanol, is considered to be one of the grand challenges in the area of catalysis and energy. The electrochemical transformation of abundant supplies of methane to methanol and other liquid fuels is a promising alternative to flaring at remote oil fields to harness, store and transport this valuable energy resource. Efforts in our group are geared towards understanding the activation and charge extraction kinetics during methane partial and total oxidation on the surface of transition metal electrodes.