EAPSI: Electrochemical Studies of the Transformation of the Solid-Liquid Interface

Lucio Anthony J, Iowa City IA

Investigators

Abstract

This award focuses on studying the fundamental behavior of the solid-liquid interface. The solid-liquid interface is a microscopic region formed at the boundary between a metal electrode and the surrounding fluid electrolyte. The molecular structure of this region for aqueous systems has been continually refined, but the recent advent of ionic liquids as a new, advantageous class of electrolyte fluids requires new measurements. Ionic liquids are room temperature liquid salts that will play key roles in a myriad of applications from batteries to biocatalysis, but research on the interfacial region is necessary before technological advances can be made. Several other models have been described, and each has received criticism and undergone subsequent revision. Additionally, the effects of water at the solid-liquid interface in ionic liquids are widely unknown. Yet, the majority of ionic liquids studied are known to contain significant levels of water within their bulk liquid. In electrochemistry, this portion of water is known to be highly active. This research will systematically vary the concentration of water in ionic liquids and use electrochemistry to analyze water?s role at the solid-liquid interface. This research will be conducted in collaboration with Dr. Alan M. Bond, a pioneer in ionic liquid electrochemistry, at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. Traditional models do not describe the behavior in ionic liquids, and experiments to uncover ionic liquid structure at the solid-liquid interface is a growing field in chemistry. One relatively new and powerful tool useful for exploring the solid-liquid interface in ionic liquids is large amplitude Fourier transform alternating current (FT-ac) voltammetry. Unlike most techniques, FT-ac voltammetry allows the separation of unwanted background signal from the signal of interest. This collaboration affords an opportunity to have access to a unique instrument, available only at Monash University, and enable new insights into this interfacial region in ionic liquid electrolytes. This NSF EAPSI award is funded in collaboration with the Australian Academy of Science.