Organic electrochemical device

Principal investigator: Viktor Gueskine

Co-investigator: Mikhail Vagin

Our research in Organic Electrochemical Devices focuses on flow cells being the heart of energy storage and conversion open-system devices such as flow batteries, fuel cells, electrolysers. Both storage and conversion imply transformation of electrical energy into chemical energy of molecules. The difference, as we understand it, is that storage supposes making the chemical energy readily transformable back into electricity, while conversion means rather production of multipurpose energetic molecules (e.g. hydrogen peroxide, a green oxidant). The flow cell is composed of two electrode compartments through which redox-active components circulate separated by a membrane.

Our core expertise is in electrochemistry of conducting polymers and organic semiconductors as electrodes. In collaboration with our colleagues from the Wallenberg Wood Science Center, we develop expertise on forest materials for selective organic membranes and porous electrodes.

A clear advantage of organic electrodes and membranes thus prepared is non-toxicity and high natural abundance of their constituent atomic elements. Novel operational principles can be a plus.

We study electrochemical reactions of key energetic importance, namely, Hydrogen Evolution Reaction (HER) and Oxygen Reduction Reaction (ORR), ubiquitous coupled proton and electron transfer (CPET), and investigate the mechanism of electrocatalysis at organic electrodes. We also investigate reactant and ion management by micro- and nano- porous organic electrodes to increase efficiency and selectivity of electrochemical reactions.