Elena Savinova (40 mins talk + 10 mins questions)
Institute of Chemistry and Processes for Energy, Environment and Health, CNRS, University of Strasbourg, 67087 Strasbourg, France
Title: Oxygen reduction reaction at oxide surfaces
Abstract: The reduction of molecular oxygen to water is one of the most important reactions in chemistry. It is also of great technological importance, since it occurs at cathodes of fuel cells and metal-air batteries. Insufficient understanding of the mechanism of the heterogeneous electrocatalytic oxygen reduction puts constraints on the improvement of the efficiency of polymer electrolyte fuel cells and boosts their costs. Recently, an improvement of anion-exchange membranes has drawn the attention of the electrochemical community to the oxygen reduction reaction in alkaline medium. Simple and complex transition metal oxides are attractive candidates for the cathodes of liquid and solid alkaline fuel cells. In this presentation we will discuss the electrocatalytic oxygen reduction reaction on Co- and Mn- oxides of the perovskite family. By combining the experimental rotating disc and rotating ring-disc studies of the oxygen and the hydrogen peroxide reduction reaction with the kinetic modeling, we will attempt to understand the predominant reaction pathways and mechanisms. We will then compare the ORR on oxide and on Pt electrodes, and will speculate on how the electrocatalytic activity of oxide materials could approach and even exceed the activity of Pt.
Biography: Elena Savinova received her M. Sci. in Chemistry (Honor diploma) from the Department of Natural Sciences, Novosibirsk State University, Russia, in 1981, and her PhD (Candidate of Science) from the Boreskov Institute of Catalysis of the Russian Academy of Sciences (BIC SB RAS) in 1988, the title of Associate Professor (docent) from the Novosibrsk State University in 1995, and the title of Doctor of Sciences from the BIC SB RAS in 2006. She has worked as a senior research fellow at BIC SB RAS (Novosibirsk, Russia), and at Technische Universität München (Garching, Germany), as a visiting researcher at Fritz-Haber-Institut der MPG (Berlin, Germany), and as associate professor at Novosibirsk State University. Since 2006 she has been invited professor, and since 2007 full professor at the European School of Chemistry, Materials and Polymers (ECPM) at the University of Strasbourg. She is head of the group «Electrochemistry and Energy Conversion» at ICPEES UMR 7515. From 2001 till 2009 she served as Associate Editor and then Editor of the Journal „Fuel Cells – From Fundamentals to Systems“, Wiley-VCH. Since 2008 she has been member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry, and since 2014 Member of the Advisory Board of Electrochimica Acta. Since 2009 she has served as Chair Elect/Chair/Past Chair of the Physical Electrochemistry Division of the International Society of Electrochemistry. In 2006 she was awarded Chair of Excellence in chemistry from the National Research Agency (France). Savinova is specialist in interfacial electrochemistry, electrocatalysis and fuel cells. Her research interests are concerned with studies of reactions at electrified interfaces, investigations of the relationships between structure and reactivity of metal and metal oxide particles, and development of novel electrocatalysts and catalytic layers for polymer electrolyte fuel cells. She is co-editor of a book (Marcel Dekker), co-author of seven invited book chapters, 90 articles in peer-reviewed journals, two patents, and has given 90 invited lectures at international conferences and department seminars.