Electrocatalysts for Electrochemical Energy Storage and Conversion Studied By Advanced Characterization Methods

New functional nanocatalyst materials are key to the realization of future sustainable energy storage and conversion technologies. Their successful development and optimization requires insight into the relation between atomic scale structure and macroscopic catalytic activity using ex-situ and in-situ scattering, spectroscopy and microscopy. In this talk, we will highlight some of our recent work focused on the preparation, characterization and understanding of electrocatalytic nanomaterials for energy technologies. Particular focus will be placed on the use of and insights from advanced spectroscopic, real-space, and reciprocal-space methods including STEM-EELS microscopy, Photoelectron and absorption spectroscopy as well as ex-situ and in-situ scattering techniques. Our discussions will include materials for hydrogen and liquid fuel cells, water splitting cells, and fuel production electrolyzers.