Materials for electrochemical devices

The main objective of the course is to give students theoretical and practical knowledge in the field of electrochemical conversion and storage of energy. Understanding electrochemistry is the basis for understanding electrocatalysis and batteries. The general understanding of low-carbon technologies in the context of sustainable development will be emphasized. The discussed topics are complemented by a number of practical examples and excursion. Students will prepare a seminar on a chosen subject within the scope of the course.
With the acquired knowledge, students will have an insight into the sustainable technologies of the future. This is useful both for basic research, for engineers, and for general education.

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• Basics of electrochemistry
• Basics of electrocatalysis
• Principles of the operation of different types of electrochemical reactors
• Operation of fuel cells and electrolyzers with a proton exchange membrane (PEM)
• Synthesis of electrocatalysts
• Stability and activity of electrocatalysts
• Materials for electrochemical sensors
• Foundations of hydrogen economy
• Fuel cell vehicles and other usages
• Principles of operation of advanced battery systems
• Selected battery applications and outlook for their future development (pros and cons)
• Experimental techniques for the characterization of the materials used for conversion and storage of energy and their performance (potentiostat, electron microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, ...)
• Introduction of the most important global research groups and industry
• Presentation of important global recent achievements and trends in the last year
• Tour of the laboratories at the National Institute of Chemistry

Knowledge and Understanding:
Students will be introduced to the principles and functioning of various electrochemical energy conversion and storage systems.
Physical and chemical phenomena within the electrochemical reactors such as the fuel cell and the battery will be explained in detail.
Students will be able to assess what materials are being used for these purposes. They will be able to choose the appropriate characterization techniques for an in-depth study of these materials, and at the same time to choose the right materials for the construction of energy conversion and storage devices.
They will learn how to assess the correct working conditions for certain applications of these devices.
The acquired knowledge will serve them for independent work in laboratories or industrial plants.

Books:
* Allen J. Bard et al., Electrochemical Methods: Fundamentals and Applications, 3rd Edition, Wiley, 2022. Catalogue E-version
* Vladimir S. Bagotsky, Fundamentals of Electrochemistry, 2nd Edition, Wiley, 2005. Catalogue E-version
* W. Vielstich, A. Lamm, H. A. Gasteiger, »Handbook of Fuel Cells: Fundamentals, Technology, and Applications«, 4 volumes, J. Wiley & Sons, Chicester, 2003. E-version
* Ioannis Katsounaros and Marc Koper, Electrocatalysis for the Hydrogen Economy, Electrochemical Science for a Sustainable Society, Springer, 2017, pp 23–50

Articles:
* Mark Debe, Electrocatalyst approaches and challenges for automotive fuel cells, Nature, 2012, 486, 43–51 https://doi.org/10.1038/nature11115
* Hubert A. Gasteiger et al., Activity benchmarks and requirements for Pt, Pt-alloy, and non-Pt oxygen reduction catalysts for PEMFCs, 2005, 56, 1–2, 10, 9-35 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcatb.2004.06.021 E-version
* Vojislav R. Stamenkovic, Ben Fowler, Bongjin Simon Mun, Guofeng Wang, Philip N. Ross, Christopher A. Lucas, Nenad M. Marković, Improved Oxygen Reduction Activity on Pt3Ni(111) via Increased Surface Site Availability, Science, 2007, 315, 5811,. 493-497 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1135941
* Ioannis Katsounaros and Karl J. J. Mayrhofer et al., Oxygen Electrochemistry as a Cornerstone for Sustainable Energy Conversion: Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2014, 53, 102 – 121 https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201306588
* Nejc Hodnik et al.,. Importance and challenges of electrochemical in situ liquid cell electron microscopy for energy conversion research. Accounts of chemical research. 2016, 49, iss. 9, 2015-2022 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.accounts.6b00330 E-version
* Leonard Moriau and Nejc Hodnik et al., Resolving the nanoparticles' structure-property relationships at the atomic level: a study of Pt-based electrocatalysts, iScience 2021, 24, 102102 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2021.102102 E-version
* Gröger, O., Gasteiger, H.A., Email Author, Suchsland, J.-P., Review-Electromobility: Batteries or fuel cells?, Journal of the Electrochemical Society, 2015, 162, 14, A2605-A2622 https://doi.org/10.1149/2.0211514jes E-version
* Anja Lončar and Nejc Hodnik et al., Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2022, 61, 14, e202114437 https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202114437 E-version
* Stefan Popović and Nejc Hodnik et al., Stability and Degradation Mechanisms of Copper‐Based Catalysts for Electrochemical CO2 Reduction, Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2020, 132, 35, 14844-14854 https://doi.org/10.1002/ange.202000617
* J-M Tarascon, Michel Armand, Issues and challenges facing rechargeable lithium batteries, Nature. 2011, 414, 359–367 https://doi.org/10.1038/35104644

Oral exam. Project (written, oral and defense) (60/40)

Adj. Prof. Dr. Nejc Hodnik is Head of the Laboratory for Electrocatalysis at the National Institute of Chemistry (NIC), Slovenia, where he leads a team of more than 30 researchers. He is currently the Principal Investigator of the ERC Starting Grant 123STABLE and has successfully led numerous national and international projects, including NATO SPS initiatives on graphene and seawater electrolysis, the ERA-MIN2 RedOxRec project on platinum group metal (PGM) recycling, and several WEAVE-funded collaborations. Dr. Hodnik also supervises two industrial PhD projects funded by Johnson Matthey and EKPO, focused on the development and testing of advanced catalysts for PEM fuel cells and PEM electrolysers, in collaboration with the University of Ljubljana. He earned his PhD from the University of Ljubljana in 2013 and completed a Marie Curie IEF fellowship at the Max Planck Institute for Iron Research in Düsseldorf, Germany. Upon returning to Slovenia in 2016, he joined NIC and was shortly thereafter appointed Associate Professor. In 2024, he was named Adjunct Professor at the University of Nova Gorica.
He has authored over 120 peer-reviewed scientific publications, holds three patents and three additional patent applications, and has a current h-index of 39. He has supervised or co-supervised more than 10 PhD students, several of whom have gone on to found start-up companies or take on key roles in academia and industry. He is a frequent invited speaker at major international conferences. In recognition of his scientific and innovation impact, he received several awards, including Slovenia’s highest scientific honour, the Puh National Award (2024).
Dr. Hodnik is internationally recognized for his expertise in electrocatalysis, particularly in the development and stability analysis of nanostructured and bulk electrocatalysts using advanced methods such as identical-location electron microscopy. He is also a dedicated mentor and a strong advocate of collaborative, translational research, bridging academic innovation and industrial application in the field of clean hydrogen and sustainable energy technologies.

Double passivation water based galvanic displacement method for reproducible gram scale production of high performance pt-alloy electrocatalysts,
Matija Gatalo, Marjan Bele, Francisco Ruiz‐Zepeda, Ervin Šest, Martin Šala, Ana Rebeka Kamšek, Nik Maselj, Timotej Galun, Nejc Hodnik, Miran Gaberšček,
Angewandte Chemie, 2019, vol. 58, 1-6,
IF 12,257

Atomically resolved anisotropic electrochemical shaping of nano-electrocatalyst,
Francisco Ruiz-Zepeda, Matija Gatalo, Andraž Pavlišič, Goran Dražić, Primož Jovanovič, Marjan Bele, Miran Gaberšček, Nejc Hodnik,
Nano Letters, 2019, 19, 8, 4919-4927,
IF 12,279

Structure–Stability Relationships in Pt-Alloy Nanoparticles Using Identical-Location Four-Dimensional Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy and Unsupervised Machine Learning, Ana Rebeka Kamšek ,Francisco Ruiz-Zepeda, Marjan Bele, Anja Logar, Goran Dražić, Nejc Hodnik, ACS Nano 2025, 19, 2, 2334–2344
IF 15.8

Electrochemical Dissolution of Iridium and Iridium Oxide Particles in Acidic Media: Transmission Electron Microscopy, Electrochemical Flow Cell Coupled to Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry, and X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy Study,
Primož Jovanovič, Nejc Hodnik, Francisco Ruiz-Zepeda, Iztok Arčon, Barbara Jozinović, Milena Zorko, Marjan Bele, Martin Šala, Vid Simon Šelih, Samo Hočevar, Miran Gaberšček,,
Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2017, 139, 12837-- - 12846,
IF 14.695

Platinum recycling going green via induced surface potential alteration enabling fast and efficient dissolution,
Nejc Hodnik, Claudio Baldizzone, George Polymeros, Simon Geiger, Jan-Philipp Grote, Serhiy Cherevko, Andrea Mingers, Aleksandar Zeradjanin, Karl J. J. Mayrhofer,
Nature Communications, 2016, vol. 7, no. 13164, 1-6,
IF 11,878