Electrocatalysis on model systems with well-defined composition and crystallographic surface structures

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Global energy consumption has increased continuously over the years and is expected to grow unabated in the future. Innovation in the energy conversion and storage sectors are critical to help meet these global energy demands and reduce dependency on fossil fuels, with its concomitant greenhouse gas emissions. Among the many efforts to decrease this dependency, a promising strategy is to power the electrochemical synthesis of chemicals and fuels from naturally abundant resources using green electricity such as hydroelectricity, as well as an intermittent renewable energy supply, such as wind-derived electricity. The development of energy technologies which efficiently convert chemical energy into versatile electrical energy is equally important. 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 notably, heterogeneous electrocatalysis, since these reactions occur at the interface between different phases. Over the next five years, I intend to pursue and expand my research program on high- performance materials as they pertain to applications in the fields of energy conversion and energy storage. The present Discovery grant application will fund a research program involving basic aspects of electrocatalysis and electrode materials and focused on fundamental science. More specifically; it seeks to gain an understanding of structure-property relationships in electrode materials and reactions, which are central to environmentally-friendly energy applications. Our research team's goal is to identify active sites within a given reaction - such as different facets and edge, corner, and defective sites. This knowledge will subsequently be used to guide development of nanostructured catalysts that will maximize the concentration of active sites, and thus the current density and performance of real-life energy conversion systems. To achieve this goal, our team's approach leverages highly versatile fabrication processes to prepare model surfaces with controlled compositions and crystallographic surface orientations, which are then subjected to extensive surface and electrochemical characterization as well as evaluations of the compounds' electrocatalytic performances. Over the next five years, our short-term objective is to focus on three reactions which are central to alkaline polymer electrolyte fuel cells and the electrochemistry of carbon-free-fuels: the hydrogen oxidation reaction in alkaline media, the oxidation of NH3 to N2, and the conversion of N2 to NH3. Each year, a total of three PhD and two undergraduate students will be trained in all aspects of electrocatalysis, including material preparation and characterization, and electrochemical science. They will develop knowledge and skills relevant to Canadian industry as well as academia.