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

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.