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SUMMARY:With a Little Help from My Friends: New Ways of Seeing Electrochem
 istry - Prof Patrick Unwin
DTSTART:20241203T180000Z
DTEND:20241203T193000Z
UID:TALK221704@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Zhang Xianghao Jeffrey
DESCRIPTION:Electrochemistry has fascinated scientists for centuries. In t
 he early 19th century\, Humphry Davy called the invention of the battery (
 Volta’s pile) ‘an alarm call to experimenters’ across Europe and he 
 went on to use electrochemistry to discover a number of alkali and alkalin
 e earth metals. In the 21st century electrochemistry may help to save the 
 planet\, through innovations in technologies for energy storage and utiliz
 ation. At the same time\, electrochemical devices are increasingly found i
 n diagnostic and wearable sensors\, there is renewed interest in electrosy
 nthesis\, and in understanding the role of electrical and electrochemical 
 signaling in biological processes. Electrochemistry is important and its i
 mpact is broad!\nElectrodes and electrode materials used for electrochemis
 try are complex and heterogeneous – we can see this on a range of length
  scales through amazing microscopes. Yet\, the electrochemical activity of
  electrodes and electrochemical cells has been measured in the same way fo
 r more than half a century – as an average (net) response. A key thesis 
 of our work is that complex electrode surfaces can be broken down and stud
 ied as set of simpler “single entities” (e.g.\, individual steps\, ter
 races\, defects\, crystal facets\, grain boundaries\, single particles)\, 
 and the nanoscale understanding of reactivity that results can then be use
 d to create scalable models for electrochemical interfaces that will ultim
 ately facilitate the rational design of electrochemical devices\, with app
 lications that span battery science\, membranes\, electrocatalysts and cor
 rosion science. The journey to nanoscale structure-activity has been a ‘
 long and winding road’\, but we can now finally visualize the activity o
 f electrodes as ‘activity maps’ or ‘activity movies’\, providing a
  new way of seeing electrochemistry in action. During the lecture\, I will
  also talk about challenging dogma\, and highlight contributions to this s
 cientific journey from fabulous students\, researchers\, colleagues and fr
 iends\, alongside inspiration from personalities in other areas. \n\nAs th
 e last talk of the term\, this talk is free for all to attend\, including 
 non-members.
LOCATION:Pfizer Lecture Theatre\,  Department of Chemistry\, Lensfield Roa
 d
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