You are cordially invited to the Bilkent Chemistry Seminar Series on Tuesday, November 21st for the seminar of Dr. Jun Huang.
Title: Electric Double Layers in Electrocatalysis: Retrospective and Prospective
Speaker: Dr. Jun Huang
Institute of Energy and Climate Research, IEK-13: Theory and Computation of Energy Materials, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich, Germany
Theory of Electrocatalytic Interfaces, Faculty of Georesources and Materials Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, 52062 Aachen, Germany
Date: November 21, 2023, Tuesday
Time: 12:30 (Turkiye time)
This is an online seminar. To obtain event details please send a message to department.
Abstract:
In this talk, I will discuss with Bilkent Chemists several aspects of electric double layer (EDL) effects in electrocatalysis. Firstly, I will offer a succinct overview of the history, shedding light on earlier endeavors to decipher the impact of EDL on electrochemical reactions, tracing back to the work of Frumkin. Drawing on recent literature, I will emphasize pertinent findings from the past that resonate in contemporary research. Subsequently, I will delve into the complexities of electrocatalytic EDLs, underscoring the fundamental disparities between these and conventional EDLs observed in mercury-like electrodes. Notably, I will navigate the contentious discourse surrounding the EDL at the Pt(111)-aqueous solution interface, providing insights into the ongoing debates. Furthermore, I will elucidate our efforts to comprehend the multifaceted implications of EDL on electrocatalytic reactions. I will expound upon a recent hierarchical framework devised to facilitate a comprehensive understanding of these effects. To conclude, I will infuse practical relevance into my discourse by examining the EDL dynamics in the context of supported nanoparticle catalysts (SNPC). I will highlight the complex interplay of individual EDLs from the catalytic material and the supporting material, emphasizing the inadequately understood mesoscale overlapping EDL (ranging from 1 to 100 nm) and its implications for enhancing SNPC performance. I will present our preliminary findings on the overlapping EDL at carbon-supported Pt nanoparticles for oxygen reduction, employing a semiclassical, constant-potential functional approach.
Short Biography of the Speaker:
Jun Huang researches analytic theory and modelling of electrochemical phenomena at Juelich Research Center, Germany. He is also a junior professor at RWTH Aachen University. He obtained his bachelor and doctoral degrees from Tsinghua University, China, in 2012 and 2017, respectively. During 2017–2020, he led a research group at Central South University, China. From 2020-2022, he worked in the Institute of Theoretical Chemistry, Ulm University, Germany, and visited the University Institute of Electrochemistry, Alicante University, Germany, both funded by the Humboldt Foundation.