Monitoring electrocatalysts using in situ advanced techniques

• Grant number: 22/07113-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate (Direct)
• Start date: August 01, 2022
• End date: July 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Physical-Chemistry
• Agreement: BG E&P Brasil (Shell Group)
• Principal Investigator: Pablo Sebastián Fernández
• Grantee: Seyedehforough Mirseyed
• Host Institution: Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares (IPEN). Secretaria de Desenvolvimento Econômico (São Paulo - Estado). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Company: Secretaria de Desenvolvimento Econômico (São Paulo - Estado). Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares (IPEN)
• Associated research grant: 17/11937-4 - A sustainable path to methane conversion by advanced electrochemical technologies, AP.PCPE

Abstract

The measured (electro)catalytic response of an electrode is a consequence of the signals coming from different regions of the electrode. Thus, the combination of conventional techniques, offering information which is a sum of the many nanomaterials (or many crystal grains), with techniques that permit to get information of individual particles (or selected regions, for instance, a crystals grain) have a great potential to reach a much deeper understanding of (electro)catalytic systems.X-rays based techniques have been used for decades to obtain electronic and structural information of (electro)catalytic systems. The development of fourth generation synchrotron have made it possible to use these techniques to isolate and explore different regions of a catalyst with nanometric resolution and even be able to study individual nanoparticles. These techniques are extremely powerful to study the catalyst, but they are not able to measure activity. Thus, we are developing spectroelectrochemical cells that permit to perform FTIR imaging experiments, which permit to measure the electrode activity by monitoring the product formed.In this project, we will start working with LaNiO3-based nanoparticles, which are materials that, in principle, permit to perform XAS, XRD and imaging experiments. Besides, these materials are active for the electrooxidation of water and small organic molecules, the last permitting the study by using FTIR in situ. In the final part of the project, we will move to study systems of the interests of CISTAR and CINE. The materials, electrolyte composition, etc., will be chosen based on the instrumentation capabilities and on the previous (electro)catalytic results obtained by our colleagues of CINE and CISTAR. (AU)