Tue
22
Jul
Seminars and Conferences
Dynamic effects in CO2 electrolysis: in situ methods to understand changes in catalysts and interfaces | with Matthew T. Mayer
The seminar entitled "Dynamic effects in CO2 electrolysis: in situ methods to understand changes in catalysts and interfaces" will feature the participation of researcher Matthew T. Mayer, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie Berlin, in Germany.
The event will take place on Tuesday, 22 July 2025 from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. in Aula 2F and is organized by the Department of Applied Science and Technology-DISAT of Politecnico.
Speaker: Matthew T. Mayer
Biography:
Matthew T. Mayer is a group leader at the Helmholtz Center Berlin for Materials and Energy (HZB, Germany) where he focuses on developing catalysts and in situ methods to study interfacial phenomena in electrochemical and photoelectrochemical conversion of CO2 and CO. He earned his B.S. in chemistry from Boise State University (USA), then conducted doctoral studies at Boston College (USA) before going to EPFL (Switzerland) to work as postdoctoral scientist in the Laboratory of Photonics and Interfaces. Since 2017 he leads the group Electrochemical Conversion at HZB.
Electrochemical CO2 reduction is a complicated process, with numerous possible reaction pathways that are influenced by many factors, including the catalyst and interfacial chemical environment. These factors all tend to be highly dynamic during operation, making in situ studies crucial for understanding what is really going on. I will summarize our research with three examples: 1) Bimetal catalysts exhibit synergetic effects in product selectivity, but tend to transform drastically under operation, so we study them closely using X-ray absorption and photoelectron spectroscopy techniques to uncover their true active structures. 2) The performance of zero-gap gas diffusion electrode (GDE) cells are highly sensitive to the electrolyte used at the anode, despite the absence of catholyte. We investigate the cause and effects of unintended cation crossover on the selectivity of Cu. 3) By implementing an X-ray transparent window into our GDE cell, catalyst structure under practically-relevant operating conditions can be observed, revealing key insights into structure-activity relationships under modulated electrochemical conditions.
The event will take place on Tuesday, 22 July 2025 from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. in Aula 2F and is organized by the Department of Applied Science and Technology-DISAT of Politecnico.
Speaker: Matthew T. Mayer
Biography:
Matthew T. Mayer is a group leader at the Helmholtz Center Berlin for Materials and Energy (HZB, Germany) where he focuses on developing catalysts and in situ methods to study interfacial phenomena in electrochemical and photoelectrochemical conversion of CO2 and CO. He earned his B.S. in chemistry from Boise State University (USA), then conducted doctoral studies at Boston College (USA) before going to EPFL (Switzerland) to work as postdoctoral scientist in the Laboratory of Photonics and Interfaces. Since 2017 he leads the group Electrochemical Conversion at HZB.
Electrochemical CO2 reduction is a complicated process, with numerous possible reaction pathways that are influenced by many factors, including the catalyst and interfacial chemical environment. These factors all tend to be highly dynamic during operation, making in situ studies crucial for understanding what is really going on. I will summarize our research with three examples: 1) Bimetal catalysts exhibit synergetic effects in product selectivity, but tend to transform drastically under operation, so we study them closely using X-ray absorption and photoelectron spectroscopy techniques to uncover their true active structures. 2) The performance of zero-gap gas diffusion electrode (GDE) cells are highly sensitive to the electrolyte used at the anode, despite the absence of catholyte. We investigate the cause and effects of unintended cation crossover on the selectivity of Cu. 3) By implementing an X-ray transparent window into our GDE cell, catalyst structure under practically-relevant operating conditions can be observed, revealing key insights into structure-activity relationships under modulated electrochemical conditions.