Common challenges in electrochemistry: from the production of green hydrogen and ammonia to batteriesn and back

Electrochemistry will play a pivotal role in our transition away from fossil fuels to a net zero society. While batteries and fuel cells are set to decarbonise transportation, electrolysers can enable the sustainable synthesis of our most coveted chemicals, such as H₂ and NH₃. It turns out that some of the reactions that we aim to accelerate in water electrolysis, such as H₂ evolution, are exactly the reactions that we wish to inhibit in Li ion batteries and during N₂ reduction. To that end, in our group we translate techniques and insight from electrosynthesis to battery science and vice versa.

I will present our mechanistic studies on the electrocatalysis of (i) O₂ evolution for water electrolysis on iridium based and nickel based oxides  and  (ii) N₂ reduction to NH₃ on Li-based electrodes in organic electrolytes. (iii) parasitic gas evolution in Li ion batteries.

Our studies incorporate electrochemical measurements, electrochemical mass spectrometry, operando optical spectroscopy, secondary ion mass spectrometry, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and density functional theory; using the combination of these techniques, we build a holistic picture of the factors controlling these technologically critical reactions.