CAREER: Developing Nanoscale Scanning Electrochemical Probe Systems to Reveal the Electrical Double Layer at Electrocatalytic Interfaces

在化学系化学测量与成像（CMI）项目的支持下，德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校的任航正在开发一种纳米工具来研究电化学界面的化学和物理。传统的电化学方法通常缺乏将局部结构非均质性与复杂电化学界面上观察到的性质相关联所需的空间分辨率。任教授和他的团队正在开发一种工具，该工具可以提供有关局部界面结构和局部双电层的空间解析信息，并随后将这些信息与电催化反应性联系起来。他们的发现可能会使人们更好地理解用于能量存储和转换的电化学装置。任博士还在开发一门课程，帮助学生培养与构建和处理分析仪器相关的技能。Ren实验室将开发一种基于纳米管的方法来成像复杂电化学界面上的局部双电层特性，包括零电荷电位。虽然电化学界面的系综性质通常用于模型电极系统的评估，但大多数电化学界面包含导致双电层非均质性的局部表面结构。Ren实验室正在开发揭示多晶材料的晶界等局部结构如何影响局部双电层和相关的局部电催化反应的方法。这种空间分辨率的提高有可能为更好的电催化剂的工程界面结构带来新的设计原则。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

With support from the Chemical Measurement and Imaging (CMI) Program in the Division of Chemistry, Hang Ren of the University of Texas at Austin is developing a nanoscopic tool to study the chemistry and physics of electrochemical interfaces. Conventional electrochemical methods typically lack the spatial resolution required to correlate local structural heterogeneity to the observed properties at complex electrochemical interfaces. Professor Ren and his group are developing a tool that provides spatially resolved information about the local interfacial structure and the local electrical double layer and subsequently relates this information to electrocatalytic reactivity Their discoveries could lead to a better understanding of electrochemical devices used for energy storage and conversion. Dr. Ren is also developing a course to help students develop skills related to building and handling analytical instruments.The Ren Lab will develop a nanopipette-based method to image the local electrical double layer properties, including the potential of zero charge, at complex electrochemical interfaces. While the ensemble properties of electrochemical interfaces are routinely evaluated for model electrode systems, most electrochemical interfaces contain local surface structures that lead to heterogeneities in the electric double layer. The Ren Lab is developing methods that reveal how local structure such as grain boundaries of polycrystalline materials, influence the local electric double layer and associated localized electrocatalytic reactions. This improvement in spatial resolution has the potential to lead to new design principles for engineering interfacial structures for better electrocatalysts.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.