Electrochemistry Northwest 2019

Around 60 delegates from across the northwest and from Sheffield attended the event. 18 early career and PhD researchers presented their posters in between two talk sessions: one for early career researchers and the other for PhD researchers.

In the morning session, Hany El-Shinawi – from the Corr research group at The University of Sheffield – gave a talk on his research on solid state electrolytes for applications in lithium-ion batteries. The plenary talk, which was drafted in last minute to replace another speaker, gave insights into garnet materials and their ability to transport lithium ions but not conduct electrical current, which gives rise to longer cycling lifetimes to circumvent longevity issues for larger batteries.

Following the plenary were three talks from the University of Manchester. First, Balakrishna Ananthoju discussed defect-engineered graphene, much in keeping with UoM’s graphene research, while Conor Byrne gave a talk on in-operando electrochemical XPS, a technique that may revolutionise mechanistic information in electrochemical reactions. The second graphene talk of the day also came from UoM, this time Madhumita Sahoo discussed its use in PEM fuel cells. Finally, Tom Galloway from Liverpool University spoke of single crystal electrochemistry using the SHIN technique.

Lunch was served during the poster session, which was judged by Metrohm and Alvatek, both of whom also provided prizes for the best talks and posters.

The afternoon began with a talk from Professor Craig Banks of Manchester Metropolitan University, on his journey as an electrochemist, from developing screen-printed electrodes through to the 3D printed electrodes he engineers within his research group today. Craig’s talk provided inspiration to our early careers and PhD researchers alike, and his take-home message was quite profound in the discussion when he advised young researchers to “never believe what you read in the literature”. I’m sure his point of view will resonate with some.

There were three further talks in the afternoon: Two from the University of Manchester, and one from Lancaster University to close the day. Aranzazu Carmona Orbezo (UoM) delivered her talk on capacitative deionization, a talk that won her the PhD researcher talk prize presented by Alvatek and also free entry to this year’s national electrochemistry conference in Glasgow. Aranzazu will also be given a talk slot at the national conference.

Another UoM PhD researcher, Pawin Iamprasertkun, then discussed the capacitance of the graphite/electrolyte interface, which made for interesting listening since MMU also have a vested interest in this area of research! Finally, Dhruv Trivedi closed the day with his engaging talk on the electrochemical reduction of CO₂ – a field of research that is increasing in its impact and interest and something that could help mitigate climate change in the future.