PhD-student: 2 PhD positions on new concepts in electrocatalysis beyond the Sabatier principle

Catalysts are traditionally improved by searching for new combinations of materials or configurations that push the binding energy towards the ideal value. However, recently a completely different way of tuning chemical reactivity has emerged: controlling the optical environment of a chemical reaction. The binding energy of hybridized chemical intermediates can be tuned by adjusting the optical cavity. This field of strong coupling or polaritonic chemistry is still in its infancy and has never been used to alter the reactivity of electrocatalysts. In this project, we will use the extreme light confinement formed in the nanoscale gaps between metal nanoparticles and mirrors to tune the binding energy of electrochemical intermediates also located in these gaps. The ability to selectively tune specific bonding energies also opens up the possibility of providing different binding between chemically similar intermediates, like oxide, hydroxide and peroxide. This will allow us to push inexpensive but poor performing electrocatalyst up to the peak of the volcano plot for a variety of different reactions, opening up the possibility to efficiently and economically store renewable electricity in fuels.

This project is done in collaboration between two groups at Amolf, for which two positions are available.
1- Design and fabrication of optical cavities with tuning strong coupling effects
2- Measure the local changes in electrochemical reaction rate with scanning electrochemical microscopy