Shannon Stahl

Manipulating “Overpotential” in Electrochemical and Chemical Redox Catalysis

Overpotential is a prominent concept in electrocatalysis and electrochemical energy conversion, as it influences the energy efficiency of fuel cells, electrolyzers, and related devices. This talk will show how overpotential is a crucial, but underutilized, metric relevant to many other domains of catalysis and redox reactions. The electrochemical oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) will be used to introduce the fundamental concepts. The principles will then be used to analyze applications of organic electrochemistry and aerobic oxidation catalysis, in order to show how overpotential influences reaction rates, product selectivity, functional group compatibility, and the overall utility of the catalytic reaction. The ability to manipulate overpotentials in these and other domains is intrinsic to the design of optimal catalysts.