APPLICATIONS OF TECHNOLOGY:
- Electrochemical devices for various chemical transformations
- System that enables access to a new regime of electrochemistry for research & development
- Optimization system and method for industrial-scale electrochemical processes
BENEFITS:
- Significantly expands the range of conditions (i.e. polarization coordinates) over which an electrochemical experiment can be run (access to new regime)
- Enables high precision, high-performance automated measurement
BACKGROUND:
- In electrochemistry, a potentiostat can only be used to set either voltage or current. Since the described method and apparatus decouples current and voltage, experimentalists and scientists can independently vary one parameter (either current or voltage) without changing the other. There are no competing technologies with this distinctive advantage.
TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW:
Researchers at Berkeley Lab have developed a method and apparatus that allows for independent control of current and voltage for testing electrochemical processes using a potentiostat and light source.
In the apparatus, the light source illuminates the photovoltaic semiconductor device. While the apparatus is in operation, the potentiostat and the intensity of the incident light function to control the voltage and current applied to the electrochemical cell, respectively.
This technology ultimately overcomes the limitations of the co-dependence of current and voltage in typical electrochemical apparatus. The high precision, high-performance measurement instrument allows for exploring a wider range of polarization conditions than can be accessed using a standard potentiostat. The useful apparatus may have a large impact in the market of R&D electrochemistry as a characterization and optimization tool.
DEVELOPMENT STAGE: Proven principle
PUBLICATION:
“J–V Decoupling: Independent Control over Current and Potential in Electrocatalysis, ” P. Agbo, J. Phys. Chem C 2020, December 15, 2020, http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.0c08142
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS:
- Peter Agbo
- David Larson
STATUS: Patent pending.
OPPORTUNITIES: Available for licensing or collaborative research.
WEBSITE TECHNOLOGY CATEGORIES/SUBCATEGORIES:
- Electrocatalysts
- Semiconductors
- Photonics