Report for Division 7 of the International Society ofElectrochemistry for 2006

Activities of Division 7 2006

• Chair (E.Leiva), Chair-Elect (M.Koper) and two vice-Chairs (E. Herrero andC.Korzeniewski) appointed.

• The ISE meeting held at Herriot-Watt University in Edinburgh involved ISEDivision 7 members Andrea Russell, Gary Attard, Andrzej Wieckowski and MarcKoper in the organization of Symposium 8 “Surface Chemistry and Dynamics” .This was an extremely well-attended and successful Symposium with a widerange of scientific topics discussed with 34 speakers from all over the worldrepresented including the USA, Canada, Europe and Asia. Areas of particularfocus included spectroscopic interrogation of well-defined electrode surfaces,bimetallic electrodes and electrocatalysis, theoretical modeling of electrochemicalprocesses and novel electrochemical experimental techniques.

• During the ISE conference, Gary Attard attended the Division Officers meetingon behalf of Division 7. It was evident from the meeting that more interactionbetween Division members and the activities of the Society could be facilitated byuse of ISE e-mailing facilities for example to publicise various events and thatDivision Officers are to be encouraged to organize Division lunches at futuremeetings to enable members to voice their opinions. To this end, the 2008 ISEmeeting in Seville will be holding a Division 7 luncheon and it is hoped that asmany members as possible of the Division will attend. This action may besupported financially by funds allocated by ISE to the Division.

• A request for a contribution for travel costs by Dr. Julia Kunze in order to attendISE 57 was supported.

• Sponsorship by ISE Division 7 of the “International Symposium on SurfaceImaging/Spectroscopy at the Solid/Liquid Interface” held in Krakow on May 28th-June 1st 2006. This Symposium acted as a forum for discussion of experimentaland theoretical aspects of the properties of electrochemical interfaces, particularlyin relation to local and nanoscale information gained via imaging andspectroscopic techniques and “global” electrochemical data. A strong team ofspeakers had been assembled and a very interesting scientific programme ensued.

• A request for sponsorship by ISE Division 7 of the “International Conference onElectrified Interfaces” to be held in Sahoro, Hokkaido, Japan 24th-29th June 2007was received. The ICEI 2007 is the 11th in a series on non-traditional approachesto the study of solid/electrolyte interfaces and follows the successful meetingsheld in Snowmass, Logan, Telavi, Berlin, Bologna, Asilomar, Harlech, Povoa deVarzim, Wolfville, and Spa. The Division agreed to sponsorship of CHF1000.

Detailed Reports on two other ISE-sponsored Meetings courtesy of Ezequiel Leiva andMarc Koper respectively:

FyQS II: Surface Science and Electrochemistry, 18-20 May 2006, Vaquerías -Córdoba, ArgentinaThe purpose of this meeting was to bring together experimentalists and theoreticians fromthe two interrelated disciplines of surface science and electrochemistry to presentconcepts, methods, models and ideas in order to

• Provide a better focus on the state of the art of the different disciplines.• Discuss common problems whose solutions can benefit from the complimentary

approach• Outline future coordinated directions of research capable of bringing new insight

in the common fields.• Discuss the present problems in the context of nanoscience and nanotechnology.

The participants of the meeting came from areas such as physics, physicalelectrochemistry and colloid science, being the surface science the link between theirinterests.ProgrammeThe programme included theoretical surface studies including modeling, nanostructuredelectrode surfaces, reactivity and transformations at interfaces, XPS, Angle-ResolvedUPS, LEED, Photoelectron Diffraction, Scanning Near field Optical Microscopytechniques and imaging of surface dynamics and structure, and particular emphasis willbe given to the influence of chemical and physical surface modifications on interfacialproperties

Two plenary lectures were held by:Richard Lambert(Chemistry Department, Cambridge Universtiy):Where surface science meets heterogeneous catalysis: out of ultra high vacuum andinto the real worldDavid Schiffrin(Centre for Nanoscale Science, University of Liverpool)Nanoparticles and molecular wires: optical and electrical properties.

The Meeting included also 23 oral presentation and a poster session, and also co-sponsored by the Asociación Argentina de Investigación Fisicoquímica, the AgenciaNacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica, and the Agencia Córdoba ciencia

Division 7 is participating in the organization of a Symposium on ElectrochemicalNanoscience and Nanotechnology, within The 58th Annual Meeting of the InternationalSociety of Electrochemistry, September 9 to 14, 2007, The Banff Centre Banff, Alberta,Canada.This section is aimed at presenting the most relevant electrochemical achievements aswell as current experimental and theoretical challenges in the area of generating,controlling, characterizing and exploiting nanosystems. On one side, basic aspects of thepivotal role of electrochemistry in the future development of the science of nanosystems

will be stressed and discussed. On the other side, methods for preparing nanostructuredmaterials, and technologically oriented nanoobjects will also be considered.This symposium will focus on the following main topics:Nanoparticles, including nanowires, nanodots, nanoholes, nanopores, nanopillar arrays,etc.Self assembled monolayersMolecular machines and devicesBiomimetic membranes modified and functionalized electrodesNanoelectrodesBionsensorsMolecular electronicsElectrochemical electron transfer at functionalized nanoobjectsApplication of the electrochemical scanning-probe microscopy techniquesOptical properties of nanoparticlesElectrocatalytic reactions on nanoparticlesComputers Simulations of Nanostructuring ProcessesQuantum mechanical calculations of self-assembled and Nanostructured SystemsTheoretical Aspects of electron transfer reactions at nanosystems.

Report on the Lorentz Workshop “Fuel Cell Catalysis – A Surface ScienceApproach”.

The workshop was held at the LorentzCenter of Leiden University fromOctober 16-20, 2006, and organized byM.T.M.Koper (Leiden), A.Wieckowski(Illinois) and J.K.Nørskov (Lyngby). Itbrought together some 70 scientists fromEurope, United States of America,Japan, China, South Korea and Israel.The workshop received sponsorshipfrom Leiden University, the NetherlandsOrganization for Scientific Research(NWO), Delft Instute for SustainableEnergy (DIDE), the Royal NetherlandsAcademy for Arts and Sciences(KNAW), and the International Societyof Electrochemistry (ISE), and co-sponsorship from Toyota, Johnson-Matthey, Umicore, Energy ResearchCenter of the Netherlands (ECN), andCMR Fuel Cells.

The workshop brought together experimentalists and theoreticians working in the field offundamental fuel cell catalysis, to discuss and identify major research themes in the“surface science approach” to catalytic reactions at the solid-liquid interface relevant tofuel cells. Emphasis was on a molecular-level description of fuel catalysis for low-temperature polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells, both hydrogen-oxygen fuelcells and direct alcohol fuel cells, based on well-defined systems probed with state-of-the-art experimental and theoretical tools. Catalysis issues included CO tolerance of bothanode and cathode (in relation to methanol crossover), oxygen reduction, and alcoholoxidation. The workshop reviewed progress and outlined future challenges in theapplication of surface-sensitive techniques [vibrational spectroscopy (IR, Raman, non-linear, laser), scanning tunneling microscopy, X-Ray scattering, NMR, electrochemicaltechniques, etc.] and modern computational techniques (DFT, ab initio MD, kineticMonte Carlo simulations), and in particular their combination, in understanding themolecular basis of fuel cell catalysis. Important topics were: trends in reactivity andstructure sensitivity, nanoparticles, “dynamic” catalysis (surface diffusion, catalystrestructuring), combining experiment and theory, comparison electrocatalysis-gas phasecatalysis, models and simulations of elementary reaction steps, new experimentaltechniques, “non-traditional” catalysts such as non-platinum-based surfaces and enzymes.

A prominent conclusion from the workshop was the field of electrocatalysis for fuel cellshas matured immensely in the past few years and the cooperation between theory,experiment, and surface science has contributed significantly to this important progress.We are entering a period in which we obtain a molecular-level understanding of fuel cellcatalysis, which may ultimately contribute to improved fuel cell performance. Improvedsimulation methods to study elementary reactions, the experimental ability to work withand at well-defined nanoparticles, and the use of bio-inspired or bio-mimicking catalystswere recognized as important avenues for the future.

On a final and very sad note, we remember Prof. Francisco Nart who died tragically inSeptember and was a colleague, friend and valued member of our Division who will bemissed very much.

Gary A. Attard February 9th 2006