Advanced Electrocatalytic Materials for Hydrogen and Oxygen Evolution Reactions
The development of efficient and durable electrocatalysts for water electrolysis is essential for the large-scale production of green hydrogen. The overall efficiency of electrolyzers is strongly influenced by the kinetics of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER).
The development of innovative, stable, and low-cost catalytic materials is therefore a key research challenge.
This thesis will focus on the design, synthesis, characterization, and electrochemical evaluation of advanced materials for HER and OER. Particular attention will be devoted to transition-metal-based catalysts containing earth-abundant elements such as nickel, iron, cobalt, manganese, molybdenum, and tungsten. Different classes of materials, including alloys, oxides, hydroxides, phosphides, sulfides, nitrides, and multicomponent or heterostructured systems, may be investigated as alternatives to catalysts based on platinum-group metals.
For HER, the research will explore strategies such as alloying, heteroatom doping, defect engineering, nanostructuring, and interface modification to improve catalytic activity and reaction kinetics. For OER, particular emphasis will be placed on mixed-metal oxides and hydroxides, with attention to the evolution of the catalyst surface under anodic operating conditions and the relationship between structure, active phases, and long-term stability.
The materials will be characterized using complementary physicochemical techniques and evaluated through electrochemical methods, including polarization curves, Tafel analysis, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, chronoamperometry, and accelerated durability tests. Where possible, changes in catalyst structure and composition before and after electrolysis will be investigated.
The project may also include the integration of HER and OER catalysts into complete water-electrolysis cells. Performance will be assessed in terms of overpotential, Faradaic efficiency, current density, energy consumption, and long-term stability.
The overall objective is to establish relationships between material properties and electrocatalytic performance and to develop promising materials for efficient, durable, and sustainable next-generation water electrolyzers.
Electrochemical Processes for Sustainable Pollutant Removal and Resource Recovery
The increasing contamination of water resources by heavy metals, emerging organic pollutants, inorganic species, and persistent contaminants requires the development of innovative and sustainable treatment technologies. This argument will investigate advanced electrochemical processes for the removal, degradation, separation, and possible recovery of pollutants from contaminated water and wastewater.
Particular attention will be devoted to electrooxidation, electroreduction, electrocoagulation, and electro-electrodialysis processes. The research will examine the influence of key operating parameters, including current density, electrode material, electrolyte composition, pH, hydrodynamic conditions, and treatment time, on pollutant removal efficiency and process performance. Depending on the specific application, the identification of degradation products and reaction mechanisms will also be considered.
The overall objective is to develop and optimize sustainable electrochemical treatment strategies, considering not only pollutant removal but also energy efficiency, process selectivity, scalability, and the potential recovery of valuable resources.
Li/air batteries: new nanostructured materials for oxygen electrodes
The main aim of this research is the development and investigation of efficient cathode materials for lithium–oxygen (Li–O₂) batteries, which are of interest for next-generation electric mobility because of their potentially high specific energy. However, their practical performance remains limited by the complex and poorly understood electrochemical processes occurring at the cathode/electrolyte/oxygen interfaces.
Particular attention is required to understand the mechanisms governing the oxygen reduction and evolution reactions (ORR/OER), as well as the formation, growth and decomposition of lithium-containing discharge products, primarily Li₂O₂. Their accumulation within the porous cathode can block active sites and hinder electron, ion and oxygen transport, resulting in increased polarization, reduced accessible capacity and poor cycle life. Parasitic reactions involving the electrolyte and electrode materials represent an additional critical limitation.
Within this framework, transition-metal oxides were investigated as potential cathode catalysts, with MnO₂ selected as the reference material. In addition to commercial electrolytic MnO₂, MnO₂ nanopowders were synthesized through a sol–gel route, which enables control over particle morphology, crystallinity, surface area and surface chemical properties. Different precursors and synthesis parameters—including water-to-precursor and water-to-solvent ratios, hydrolysis temperature and time, solvent removal procedures and calcination temperature—were varied to produce materials with the same nominal composition but significantly different physicochemical characteristics. Their systematic characterization provides a basis for establishing structure–property relationships relevant to Li–O₂ electrochemistry.
Overall, the research combines controlled synthesis, physicochemical characterization and electrochemical investigation of MnO₂-based materials to identify cathode properties capable of improving reaction kinetics, reversibility, stability and cycling performance in Li–O₂ batteries.
Green Chemistry: Carbon-Supported Nanocatalysts for Electrochemical Dehalgenation
Nanostructured multifunctional materials offer opportunities for advancing electrochemical technologies in environmental remediation and energy conversion. Their electrocatalytic properties can be tailored through controlled synthesis, nanoscale structural design, and integration into suitable electrode architectures.
Within this framework, this research focuses on the electrochemical synthesis of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) and their incorporation into carbon-supported composites for the reductive dechlorination of chlorinated organic pollutants. Particular attention is devoted to electrode preparation strategies that enhance catalytic performance while minimizing silver loading. The available results indicate that nanostructured silver can outperform bulk silver under the investigated conditions, enabling a substantial reduction in the precious-metal content of the cathode.
The electrochemical behaviour of these materials has been investigated in both aqueous and non-aqueous media. Aqueous-phase studies employed a cavity microelectrode (CME), with chloroform as a model substrate, while complementary measurements were performed in acetonitrile (ACN). These investigations provide a basis for assessing the suitability of the composites for electrochemical dechlorination and guiding further electrode optimization.
Future work will address the integration of the most promising composite electrodes into a pilot-scale electrochemical reactor. Evaluation under practically relevant operating conditions will establish their performance in terms of pollutant conversion, product selectivity, Faradaic efficiency, energy consumption, and operational stability, while assessing silver release and the feasibility of process scale-up.