CAREER: Plasmonic Enhancement of Electrocatalytic Oxygen Reduction in Nonaqueous Solvents

With the support of the Chemical Catalysis program in the Division of Chemistry and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), Professor Andrew Wilson of the University of Louisville is studying the electrochemical reduction of oxygen. The reduction of oxygen is an important reaction in the storage and conversion of energy as well as in the synthesis of organic chemicals. Limitations of the electrochemical oxygen reduction reaction include high energy costs and transport of oxygen to the reaction site. Professor Wilson and his team of researchers will address these limitations by studying how the properties of nonaqueous solvents influence the ability of metal nanoparticle catalysts to convert visible light into electrical energy and heat to improve the oxygen reduction reaction. Understanding how solvent can impact the conversion of visible light into electrical or chemical energy on metal electrodes will have broad impacts including new approaches in the synthesis of sustainable fuels and organic molecules and new strategies to improve the efficiency and capacity of metal-oxygen batteries, driving forward the pursuit of energy security. The research will be complemented with an educational plan to recruit and retain a diverse population of students in chemistry by engaging underrepresented minority and first-generation students in research at the beginning of college and pre-college time periods. Engagement will be accomplished through the development of an introductory research course, integrated workshops, and pre-college outreach and education. With the support of the Chemical Catalysis program in the Division of Chemistry and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), Professor Andrew Wilson of the University of Louisville is studying how the external medium impacts the plasmonic enhancement of the electrocatalytic reduction of molecular oxygen. The primary scientific goals of this research are to obtain a mechanistic understanding of how plasmon excitation and decay effects electrochemically-driven oxygen reduction in aprotic solvents and to understand how the peak energy of plasmon resonances and excitation across a plasmon band effect oxygen reduction. Using electroanalytical chemistry, surface spectroscopy, and finite-element simulations, a systematic investigation of how solvent properties influence plasmon-enhanced oxygen reduction in aprotic electrolytic solutions will be conducted. The research outcomes are expected to provide an understanding of how solvent attributes influence the availability of light-generated charge carriers and dissipation of heat to reduce the kinetic overpotential and concentration polarization of the oxygen reduction reaction. Understanding the mechanism of plasmon-enhanced electrochemistry in nonaqueous solvents is expected to open new synthetic pathways for fuels and chemical commodities that do not occur in aqueous electrolytes or in the absence of light, as well as potentially unique ways to control surface and interfacial chemistry. 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.