Enabling Quantitative Real-Time Detection of Volatile Electrochemical and Photoelectrochemical Reaction Products with an ElectroChemical Mass Spectrometer (EC-MS)

随着全球能源消耗的增加，对环境危害较小的可再生能源技术和工艺的需求也在迅速增长。在为减少我们对化石燃料的依赖而作出的众多努力中，一个有希望的战略是利用丰富的自然资源和可再生电力为化学品和燃料的合成提供动力。这些工艺与水电等绿色能源和太阳能或风能等间歇性可再生能源供应兼容，并可实现化学品和燃料的可持续生产。因此，通过开发用于将CO2、N2、H2O和生物质（光）电化学转化为有价值的产物（例如烃和含氧化合物、氨和氢）的方法，已经做出了大量努力来以化学键的形式储存能量，并且促进改进的能量储存装置的开发。 开发和部署这些技术将需要应用来自各种领域的知识，概念和工具，包括材料科学，物理学，化学（电化学），特别是电催化和光电催化。这依赖于我们对目标反应的催化材料的结构-活性-稳定性关系的理解。该提案的目的是购买一台能够定量和实时检测（光）电化学反应产物的独特电化学质谱仪（EC-MS）。该设备在灵敏度和响应时间方面提供了一系列前所未有的能力，允许在时间尺度上进行测量，并且具有目前无法达到的灵敏度。 这些设备将由40名HQP亲自使用，为他们的培训增加了一个重要组成部分，并提高了他们的就业能力。这是迫切需要的，对所有共同申请人的研究至关重要。这将大大扩展他们的研究能力，提高他们建立和加强与学术界和工业界合作的能力。它需要在加拿大的高社会经济重要性领域的研究计划，例如能源转换和储存（燃料电池，NH3合成，二氧化碳转化为增值产品，制氢，锂电池，太阳能燃料），废水处理和材料科学。考虑到这些领域的全球重要性，购买该设备将推动加拿大的研究走到科学领域的最前沿，使我们的研究人员能够开发出准确的机械模型，揭示其降解过程，并最终开发出在操作条件下稳定的材料，并显示出更好的能源效率和更高的转换效率。

As global energy consumption increases, the demand for renewable energy technologies and processes having a less harmful impact on the environment is growing rapidly. Among the numerous efforts deployed to decrease our dependence on fossil fuels, one promising strategy is to power the synthesis of chemicals and fuels from naturally abundant resources and by using renewable electricity. These processes are compatible with green energy sources like hydroelectricity and intermittent renewable energy supplies such as solar- or wind-derived electricity and can enable sustainable production of chemicals and fuels. Accordingly, substantial efforts have been made to store energy in the forms of chemical bonds by developing processes for the (photo)electrochemical conversion of CO2, N2, H2O and biomass to valuable products, such as hydrocarbons and oxygenates, ammonia and hydrogen, and to foster the development of improved energy storage devices. Developing and deploying these technologies will require the application of knowledge, concepts and tools from a variety of fields including materials science, physics, chemistry (electrochemistry) and, most particularly, electrocatalysis and photoelectrocatalysis. This relies on our understanding of the structure-activity-stability relationships of catalytic materials for the targeted reactions. The aim of this proposal is to purchase a unique electrochemical mass spectrometer (EC-MS) capable of quantitative and real-time detection of (photo)electrochemical reaction products. The equipment offers a set of unprecedented capabilities in terms of sensitivity and response time, allowing measurements to be performed on a time scale and with a sensitivity that cannot be reached now. The equipment will be used hands-on by 40 HQP, adding an important component to their training and increasing their employability. It is needed urgently and is critical to the research of all co-applicants. It will greatly expand their research capabilities and raise their ability to build and strengthen their collaborations with academia and industry. It is required for research programs in areas of high socio-economic importance to Canada, e.g. energy conversion and storage (fuel cells, NH3 synthesis, conversion of CO2 into value-added products, hydrogen production, lithium batteries, solar fuels), wastewater treatment and materials sciences. Considering the global importance of these areas, the acquisition of this equipment will propel Canadian research to the forefront of the scientific scene, enabling our researchers to develop accurate mechanistic models, shed light on the processes responsible for their degradation, and ultimately develop materials that are stable in operating conditions and that show better energy efficiency and improved conversion efficiency.