Quantifying the Effects of Disorder and Lateral Interactions on Chemically Modified Carbon Electrodes: Molecular Insights to Rationally Design Electrochemical Performance

University Of North Carolina At Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill NC

Investigators

Abstract

With support from the Macromolecular, Supramolecular, and Nanochemistry (MSN) Program of the Division of Chemistry, Matthew R. Lockett and his students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are investigating the effect of disorder and lateral chemical interactions on the properties of chemically modified carbon electrodes. Carbon-based electrodes are widely used because they are robust and their chemical, electronic and optical properties are readily tunable through the attachment of functional groups to their surfaces. Carbon electrodes will be modified by attaching functional groups with propensity for lateral interaction and the physicochemical properties of the products will be characterized. The molecular insight gained from conducting this project is expected to inform the rational design of electrochemical systems for important applications, such as sensing, catalysis, electronics, and chemical separations. A diverse group of graduate and undergraduate students will be trained in advanced synthesis and measurement techniques and several community outreach activities are planned with a focus on promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion with a special emphasis on promoting LGBTQ+ participation in scientific research and in society as a whole. Under this award, the Lockett research team will develop new carbon-based electrode materials with controlled composition using chemical vapor deposition techniques. Electrode surfaces will be chemically modified with functional groups that can readily exchange electrons with the surface. New instrumental methodologies, including scanning probe and single molecule fluorescence microscopies, will be developed to characterize the surface structure and physicochemical properties of the modified electrodes. Structure-function guided studies will be conducted to specifically determine how molecular disorder on the surface will affect the electrochemical reversibility of model complexes and the efficiency and selectivity of CO2 reduction catalysts. The datasets obtained from conducting the experiments will complement existing ensemble techniques that quantify disorder through lateral interactions. 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.