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Efficient and selective oxidation of ethylene glycol is challenging due to uncontrollable C-C bond cleavage. We propose an electrochemical strategy for the selective electrooxidation of ethylene glycol to sythesise lactic acid on a Ni-based electrocatalyst by controlling the pH value of the electrolyte solution.

A light-controlled multiplexing platform has been developed on the basis of a quantum dot-sensitized inverse opal TiO 2 electrode with integrated biocatalytic reactions. Spatially resolved illumination enables multiplexed sensing and imaging of enzymatic oxidation reactions at relatively negative applied potentials.

Memory effects in Li-ion battery materials have been explained on the basis of the thermodynamics of many-particles body, however the role of the (de-)intercalation kinetics is not yet clear. We demonstrate that kinetic aspects, specifically Li-ion mobility, are determining the magnitude of the memory effect in TiO 2 by studying samples with different levels of oxygen vacancies.

The feasibility of using iron oxides as negative electrode materials for safe high-power Li-ion batteries is demonstrated by the carbon-coated FeOx/CNT composite synthesized by controlled pyrolysis of ferrocene, which delivered a specific capacity retention of 84% (445 mA h g(-1)) after 2000 cycles at 2000 mA g(-1) (4C).

In operando SECM is employed to monitor the evolution of the electrically insulating character of a Si electrode surface during (de-)lithiation. The solid-electrolyte interface (SEI) formed on Si electrodes is shown to be intrinsically electrically insulating. However, volume changes upon (de-)lithiation lead to the loss of the protecting character of the initially formed SEI.

Individual Ni(OH)2 nanoparticles deposited on carbon nanoelectrodes are investigated in non-ensemble measurements with respect to their energy storage properties and electrocatalysis for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Charging by oxidation of Ni(OH)2 is limited by the diffusion of protons into the particle bulk and the OER activity is independent of the particle size.

The formation of the alkyl carbonate-derived solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) enables the use of active materials operating at very cathodic potentials in Li-ion batteries. However, the SEI in semi-solid flow batteries results in a hindered electron transfer between a fluid electrode and the current collector restricting the operating potentials to ca. 0.8 V vs. Li/Li(+) for EC-based electrolytes.

We report the first proof of concept for a non-aqueous semi-solid flow battery (SSFB) based on Na-ion chemistry using P2-type NaxNi0.22Co0.11Mn0.66O2 and NaTi2(PO4)3 as positive and negative electrodes, respectively. This concept opens the door for developing a new low-cost type of non-aqueous semi-solid flow batteries based on the rich chemistry of Na-ion intercalating compounds.

The incorporation of Fe-Nx/C moieties into perovskites remarkably activates them for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and also leads to notable improvement of their activity towards the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) thus presenting a new route for realizing high performance, low cost bifunctional catalysts for reversible oxygen electrodes.

A new concept for the localized characterization of gas evolving electrodes based on scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) is suggested. It offers information about the spatial distribution of the predominant locations, which represent the most active catalytic sites, and dynamic characteristics of gas-bubble departure. The knowledge about gas-bubble departure is critical for the assessment and development of new electrode materials for energy applications.

Four organic amine-based solvents were discovered which enable direct exfoliation of graphite to produce high-quality and oxygen-free graphene nanosheets. These solvents outperform previously used solvents and additives such as N-methyl-pyrrolidone and surfactants in terms of their dispersing capacity. The resulting dispersions allow the facile fabrication of zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF)-graphene nanocomposites with remarkable CO2 storage capability.

The carbon-coated TiO2(B) nanosheet composite synthesized by one-step hydrolysis of TiCl3 followed by vacuum annealing and air annealing delivers outstanding electrochemical performance as a negative electrode for Li-ion batteries, i.e. reversible capacity above 150 mA h g(-1) at 30 C (10 A g(-1)).

Scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) inside a glove box was used for the in situ visualization of solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) formation as well as Li-ion intercalation and de-intercalation on anatase TiO2 based paste electrodes.

Microwave induced activation of electrochemical processes at microelectrodes (ca. 0.8 microm diameter) immersed in aqueous electrolyte media is shown to be driven by (i) continuous stable cavitation (giving rise to Faradaic current enhancements by up to three orders of magnitude) and (ii) transient discharge cavitation on the micros timescale (giving rise to cathodic plasma current spikes and more violent surface erosion effects).