Development of new strategies for integrating advanced in-situ/operando characterization tools (spectroscopy or spectrometry) into electrocatalysis research. It will be of particular interest to those involved in the development of novel electrocatalysts for energy applications, those looking to deepen their understanding of catalytic mechanisms, and those interested in the latest advancements in operando characterization techniques.
- XAS
- XRD
- X-ray CT
- NMR
- ICP-MS
- Electrochemical Mass Spectrometry and Differential Electrochemical Mass Spectrometry
- UV-VIS
Kavita Kumar obtained her Ph.D. in Electrochemistry from the University of Poitiers (France) in 2017 under the direction of Prof. K. Boniface Kokoh, Dr. Têko W. Napporn and Dr. Aurélien Habrioux. During her Ph.D., she focused on cobalt oxide nanoparticles deposed on derived graphene materials for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline media. From 2018 to 2022, she was a postdoctoral research associate in the Interfacial Electrochemistry and Processes group of the LEPMI, Grenoble (France), headed by Dr. Frédéric Maillard. From 2022 to 2023, she was a postdoctoral fellow in Serhiy Cherevko’s group at HI ERN, Erlangen (Germany), where she investigated the degradation of Fe-N-C electrocatalysts during the ORR in acidic and alkaline media using mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Since 2013, she has been a researcher at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) in LEPMI. Her current research focuses on the structure-activity-stability relationships of platinum-group metal-free catalysts for oxygen electrocatalysis, through multi-scale physicochemical analysis including in situ and operando techniques such as ICP-MS, DEMS, FTIR.
Keywords: Electrocatalysis; Alkaline hydrogen fuel cell; Alkaline water electrolyzer; Catalyst structure-activity-stability relationship
Doing my BSc/MSc in Physics and PhD in an interdisciplinary program crossing the disciplines like Chemical Engineering, Nanotechnology, and Electrochemistry made me who I am today – a scientist who enjoys the challenge of multifaceted research.
I enjoy doing basic research in order to solve applied tasks. This explains my research interest in fundamental physical chemistry, e.g. oxidation and dissolution of metals and semiconductors, electrocatalysis, and electrochemistry at modified interfaces but also electrochemical engineering, e.g. development and optimization of catalyst layers in fuel cells and water electrolyzes.
Progress in basic research is often a direct outcome of previous achievements in experimental instrumentation. Hence, a significant part of my interest is in the development of new tools, e.g. electrochemical on-line mass spectrometry, gas diffusion electrode approaches, and high-throughput screening methods.
01/08/2021 to present, Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin for Material and Energy, Fritz-Haber-Institute of Max Planck Society, Postdoc
Research Topic: In situ spectrometric study of electrochemcial interface at multiple spatial scales