Chemistry Weekly Seminar - PhD Candidate Tyler Morhart
Tyler Morhart, PhD Candidate, Dept. of Chemistry, will present a seminar in THROV 124 at 1:30PM
Title:
Surface-Enhanced Spectroelectrochemistry using Synchrotron Infrared Radiation
Abstract:
Electrochemical processes are at the heart of many modern and nascent technologies, ranging from energy solutions to biomedical devices. Beginning in the 1960s and 70s, coupling infrared spectroscopic techniques to traditional electroanalytical techniques has provided increasingly deep insight into the molecular processes involved. Substantial work in the field has been devoted to developing new methods to solve the unique challenges posed by electrochemical systems, in particular the difficulty of accessing the electrode-solution interface. Furthermore, kinetic (i.e. time-resolved) measurements are limited by the rise time of the electrode. While this can be controlled by shrinking the electrode size to the microscale, the low brilliance of conventional infrared sources necessitates the use of a highly brilliant synchrotron source.
In this talk, I will describe the development of a surface-sensitive spectroelectrochemical technique with microscale spatial resolution. I will discuss attenuated total reflectance surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy (ATR-SEIRAS) and its suitability for application to electrochemical systems. I'll describe the key challenges involved in adapting it to a synchrotron source including optical requirements, electrode fabrication, and the design and commissioning of a custom endstation at the Mid-IR beamline at CLS. The general utility of the endstation will be highlighted by describing a side-project in chemical imaging of microfluidics. Finally, current challenges and developments in time-resolved measurements will be discussed.