Electrochemistry on the atomic scale

The goal of this proposal is to perform fundamental studies of electrochemical (EC) processes leading to instabilities of model electrodes in electrolysis and corrosion of applied materials on the atomic scale.

Corrosion is a destructive process with a large impact on society, and has therefore been studied for centuries, leading to modern electrolysers, fuel cells and corrosion protected applied materials used today.

However, while extremely successful, a majority of the studies have been based on traditional indirect EC methods such as cyclic voltammetry, impedance spectroscopy etc, lacking in sensitivity to detect chemical changes on the electrode surfaces leading to dissolution and corrosion during operando EC conditions.

In the current project, we will combine traditional EC methods with modern x-ray and optical techniques such as High Energy Surface X-Ray Diffraction (HESXRD), Grazing Incidence X-Ray Diffraction (GIXRD), X-Ray Reflectivity (XRR), X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy (XRF), Electro Chemical X-ray Photoemission Spectroscopy (EC-XPS), Photo Electron Emission Microscopy (PEEM), and 2D Surface Optical Reflectance (2D-SOR) microscopy, to get novel information on the atomic scale of processes leading to corrosion and dissolution of model anode material and corrosion of applied materials.