A deep understanding of the atomistic mechanisms underlying different energy-related chemical processes requires recording large datasets under operando conditions, yielding key information about the working material. Therefore, the desired parameters to study include the chemical composition at the interface and bulk, the chemical states of the atoms and their variations resulting from the reactions, as well as the structural evolution. Unfortunately, the analytical techniques capable of providing information under reaction conditions are very limited since the complex environments often required for running the reaction are hardly compatible. Consequently, in many cases, only ex situ characterizations are feasible, leading to a loss of important information because the intermediates and active species cannot be “quenched” for post-process analysis. As a result, in situ/operando characterization has gained significant attention in recent years. X-ray characterization techniques provide bulk-to-surface information in an element-specific manner, which is usually not possible with other characterization techniques. However, these techniques, especially those based on photoelectrons, are not easily compatible with complex environments such as gases and liquids, requiring ultra-high vacuum for operation, particularly in the soft X-ray regime. This symposium will focus on the in situ and operando techniques developed for the investigation of energy materials under relevant working conditions using X-ray techniques.
- Electro- Thermo- Photo-catalysis
- Batteries
- Capacitors
- Flow batteries
Carlos Escudero obtained the Degree in Chemistry at the Universitat de Barcelona (UB), where he also achieved a Master degree in Experimental Chemistry, and defended his PhD in Chemistry in 2007, qualified Excellent cum laude with European mention. During his last year of the Chemistry degree, he did an Internship in BAYER and obtained the Certificate of Pedagogic Aptitude in Physics and Chemistry at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC). During these years, he also conducted research at the Institut de Ciència de Materials de Barcelona and at the Università degli Studi di Catania (Italy). During his postdoctoral stage, he worked at the UB as Associate Professor and after that, he moved to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL, United States) where he also worked at the Advanced Light Source (ALS), the Berkeley synchrotron, as a Fulbright Scholar. He joined ALBA synchrotron as postdoc in 2012 and since 2014 he has been working there as beamline scientist. In November 2024 he also started a collaboration as invited scientist at the UPC.
During the first stage of his scientific career, he achieved significant contributions in studies about chirality and supramolecular chemistry that were published in prestigious journals. Then, since Berkeley and until now, he focused on the study of heterogeneous catalysts and electrochemistry using operando synchrotron techniques. He has made important contributions in several high-impact journals (Science, Nat. Catal., Energy Environ. Sci., Nat. Comm., JACS, ACS Catal., etc.), some published as journal covers. During his scientific career he has published around 100 articles that have been cited more than 4000 times, his h-index is 36 (WOS) and he has more than 150 contributions to conferences (7 Invited Lectures). He has participated in 14 competitive research projects, in 4 of them as principal investigator, and in 3 other non-competitive projects at ALBA. During his first years at ALBA, he worked in the CIRCE beamline, building and commissioning the NAPP endstation (AP-XPS) which started to operate with external users in 2014. Since February 2020, he joined a new project at ALBA focused on the construction and commissioning of a new beamline, NOTOS (XAS & XRD), which is open to external users since mid-2022, with high demand and success. During his work in UB, LBNL and ALBA he has established multiple national and international collaborations, as demonstrated by his publication record.
He has played a crucial role in training young scientists, participating in teaching activities within the Chemistry degree at UB and supervising several Master, PhD students and postdocs. He has co-supervised one PhD student together with Prof. Jordi Llorca from UPC. He has also taught postgraduate courses in Spain and and collaborated in the European master in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology from the UB. Carlos has participated in the organization of international training schools and symposiums in conferences, served on several PhD thesis committees and is member of the review panel of different synchrotrons since 2017.
In summary, Carlos’ scientific career has provided him with a strong multidisciplinary background which, combined with his collaborations, has enabled him to lead and contribute to various projects, resulting in high-impact scientific output.
Dr. Marine Reynaud is a Chemical Engineer from Chimie ParisTech (France) and Doctor in Materials Sciences. She completed her PhD in 2013 under the direction of Prof. Tarascon, Dr. Chotard and Dr. Rousse. Then, she joined the group of Dr. Montse Casas-Cabanas at CIC energiGUNE, where she is has recently been appointed Research Team Leader. Her research is focused on the design and development of electrode materials for Li-ion and Na-ion batteries. She is expert in inorganic syntheses and materials characterizations, looking for determining correlation between compositions, (micro)structure and electrochemical properties. For the last few years, she has been developing innovative strategies to accelerate the discovery of new battery materials.
She is author of c.a. 40 scientific publications in peer reviewed journals. She has been PI of several industrial projects and competitive national and European research projects. She has supervised 5 PhD students and currently leads a team of 12 researchers. She has recently received the first BRTA award from the Basque Research and Technology Alliance, recognizing young researchers’ passion, talent and ambition.