Abstract: In addition to engineering the morphology and electronic structure of electrocatalysts, local microenvironments at the electrode-electrolyte interface can markedly affect electrochemical reactions. In this talk, I will discuss two strategies that we are investigating to control concentration gradients and the chemical species at the electrode–electrolyte interface with the goal of improving activity and selectivity in electrocatalytic reactions. First, visible light excitation of noble metal plasmonic electrodes is known to generate localized charge carriers and heat. I will show that a rise in electrode surface temperature as small as 1 K from photothermal heating can induce convection in an electrolytic solution, and more than double electrochemical reaction rates. I will highlight an example where electrode surface heating affects selectivity in electrocatalytic CO₂ reduction. In a second strategy, we employ external magnetic fields to selectivity interact with and control the movement of charged particles in an electrolytic solution. In the electrocatalytic reduction of CO­₂ in a neutral, aqueous medium, I will demonstrate that the presence of a magnetic field enhances the selectivity of CO₂ reduction over solvent reduction, due to a change in the interfacial pH and pH gradient at the electrode-electrolyte interface. I will also show that reacting CO₂ with ionic liquids imparts a charge onto molecular CO₂ complexes, allowing control over its mass transport with magnetic fields, further improving selectivity toward the CO₂ reduction reaction. Collectively, the discussed results will highlight the importance of tuning chemical microenvironments with mass transport to optimize and control the outcomes of electrocatalytic reactions.

Bio: Andrew J. Wilson grew up in northeast Iowa and attended The University of Iowa where he completed his B.S. in chemistry and conducted research in sonoelectrochemistry in the lab of Johna Leddy. Following graduation, he joined the lab of Katherine A. Willets at The University of Texas at Austin for graduate studies, where he developed optical readouts to report on electrochemistry at the nanoscale. In 2015, Andrew completed his Ph.D. in physical chemistry and assisted in moving the Willets Lab to Temple University, where he continued as a postdoctoral research fellow. He moved to the University of Illinois at Urbana‒Champaign in 2016 where he was a Springborn Postdoctoral Fellow and performed research in plasmonic photochemistry in the lab of Prashant K. Jain. Andrew started his independent career at the University of Louisville in Fall 2020 where his research group focuses on advancing fundamental understanding of the interconversion of chemical and electrical energy. He has been named a Student Champion at the University of Louisville and is a recipient of the Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award and an NSF CAREER award.