Electrode-electrolyte interfaces and electrocatalytic kinetics

4 problems

• Origin of alkali cation effects in electrochemical CO2 reduction

  Contested

  On copper and gold electrodes, CO2 reduction barely works without metal cations in the solution, and larger cations such as cesium work better than lithium. Why the cation matters so much is unsettled.

• Ab initio structure and capacitance of the metal-water double layer

  Open

  The double layer is a few water molecules thick but its structure sets the voltage felt by reacting molecules. Simulations cannot yet reproduce its measured ability to store charge.

• Why hydrogen evolution on platinum slows down in alkaline solution

  Contested

  Platinum makes hydrogen from water roughly a hundred times more slowly in basic solution than in acid. The reason for this slowdown is still disputed.

• Structure and growth law of the battery solid-electrolyte interphase

  Open

  In lithium-ion batteries the electrolyte partly decomposes on the negative electrode and forms a thin film, the solid-electrolyte interphase, which passes lithium ions but blocks electrons. Its structure and why it keeps slowly thickening set battery lifetime but are known only roughly.