APS March Meeting 2012
Volume 57, Number 1
Monday–Friday, February 27–March 2 2012;
Boston, Massachusetts
Session A36: Focus Session: New Energy I
8:00 AM–11:00 AM,
Monday, February 27, 2012
Room: 107C
Sponsoring
Unit:
DCP
Chair: Bruce Garrett, Pacific Northwest Research Laboratory and Anders Nilsson, SLAC
Abstract ID: BAPS.2012.MAR.A36.7
Abstract: A36.00007 : Energy conversion and fuel production from electrochemical interfaces*
10:24 AM–11:00 AM
Preview Abstract
Abstract
Author:
Nenad Markovic
(Argonne National Laboratory)
Design and synthesis of energy efficient and stable electrochemical
interfaces (materials and double layer components) with tailor properties
for accelerating and directing chemical transformations is the key to
developing new alternative energy systems -- fuel cells, electrolizers and
batteries. In aqueous electrolytes, depending on the nature of the reacting
species, the supporting electrolyte, and the metal electrodes, two types of
interactions have traditionally been considered: (i) direct -- covalent {\-}
bond formation between adsorbates and electrodes, involving chemisorption,
electron transfer, and release of the ion hydration shell; and (ii)
relatively weak non-covalent metal-ion forces that may affect the
concentration of ions in the vicinity of the electrode but do not involve
direct metal-adsorbate bonding. The range of physical phenomena associated
with these two classes of bonds is unusually broad, and are of paramount
importance to understand activity of both metal-electrolyte two phase
interfaces and metal-Nafion-electrolyte three phase interfaces. Furthermore,
in the past, researcher working in the field of fuel cells (converting
hydrogen and oxygen into water) and electrolyzers (splitting water back to
H$_{2}$ and O$_{2})$ ) seldom focused on understanding the electrochemical
compliments of these reactions in battery systems, e.g., the lithium-air
system.
In this lecture, we address the importance of both covalent and non-covalent
interactions in controlling catalytic activity at the two-phase and
three-phase interfaces. Although the field is still in its infancy, a great
deal has already been learned and trends are beginning to emerge that give
new insight into the relationship between the nature of bonding interactions
and catalytic activity/stability of electrochemical interfaces. In addition,
to bridge the gap between the ``water battery'' (fuel cell $\leftrightarrow
$ electrolyzer) and the Li-air battery systems we demonstrate that this
would require fundamentally new knowledge in several critical areas. We
conclude that understanding the complexity (simplicity) of electrochemical
interfaces would open new avenues for design and deployment of alternative
energy systems.
*Work done in collaboration with R. Subbaraman, D. Tripkovic, D. Strmcnik, N. Danilovic, G. Wiberg, Chao Wang, K-C Chang, D. van der Vliet, A. Paulikas, and V. Stamenkovic, Argonne National Laboratory, Materials Science Division.
To cite this abstract, use the following reference: http://meetings.aps.org/link/BAPS.2012.MAR.A36.7