Our research effort takes an interdisciplinary approach to the study of electrochemical phenomena. We employ electrochemical techniques as probes of a variety of chemical systems, and we use other techniques such as x-ray based methods, differential electrochemical mass spectrometry, in-situ FT-IR, scanned probe microscopies, scanning electrochemical microscopy, low temperature conductance and spectroscopic techniques to address problems of electrochemical interest.  Current areas of research include:

1.  Fuel cells:

•  The use of ordered intermetallics, such as BiPt for the electrocatalytic oxidation of formic acid, methanol, ethanol and other small organic molecules of potential utility as fuels in fuel cells.

•  Use of Differential Electrochemical Mass Spectrometry (DEMS), in-situ FT-IR in for mechanistic studies related to fuel cells.

•  Development of in-situ TEM techniques for the study of fuel cell and battery materials

2. Electrical Energy Storage (EES): Batteries and Supercapacitors

•  Computational screening synthesis and characterization of organic molecules for EES

•  In-situ testing of battery systems using in-situ x-ray based technique (XRD, EXAFS, XANES)

•  Lithium/sulfur batteries

3.  Molecular electronics:

•  The synthesis of nanometric building blocks and their use in molecular electronic devices.

•  Transport measurements using mechanical break junctions and break junctions made through electromigration

•  Investigations of graphene as an experimental electrochemical platform

Wang, De-Li; Xin, Huo-Lin L.; Yu, Ying-Chao; Wang, Hong-Sen; Rus, Eric; Muller, David A.; Abruna, Hector D.;  “Pt-decorated PdCo@Pd/C core-shell nanoparticles with enhanced stability and electrocatalytic activity for the oxygen reduction reaction”.  Journal of the American Chemical Societ,y (2010), 132(50),  17664-17666

Nicholas J. Robertson, Henry A. Kostalik IV, Timothy J. Clark, Paul F. Mutolo, Héctor D. Abruña, and Geoffrey W. Coates “Tunable High Performance Cross-Linked Alkaline Anion-Exchange Membranes for Fuel Cell Applications” JACS, (2010), 132(10) 3400-3404

Deli Wang, Chinmayee V. Subban, Hongsen Wang, Eric Rus, Francis J. DiSalvo, Hector D. Abruña “Highly Stable and CO-tolerant Pt/Ti_0.7W_0.3O₂ Electrocatalyst for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells” JACS, (2010), 132(30),  10218-10220.

Michael A. Lowe, Yasuyuki Kiya, Jay C. Henderson and Héctor D. Abruña “Pendant thioether polymer fort redox capacitor cathodes” Electrochemistry Communications (2011), 13(5), 462-465.

Burkhardt, Stephen E.; Conte, Sean; Rodriguez-Calero, Gabriel G.; Lowe, Michael A.; Qian, Hualei; Zhou, Weidong; Gao, Jie; Hennig, Richard G.; Abruña, Héctor D.; “Towards organic energy storage: characterization of 2,5-bis(methylthio)thieno[3,2-b]thiophene” Journal of Materials Chemistry (2011), 21(26), 9553-9563

Parks, J. J.; Champagne, A. R.; Costi, T. A.; Shum, W. W.; Pasupathy, A. N.; Neuscamman, E.; Flores-Torres, S.; Cornaglia, P. S.; Aligia, A. A.; Balseiro, C. A.; Chan, G. K.-L.; Abruna, H. D.; Ralph, D. C.   “Mechanical Control of Spin States in Spin-1 Molecules and the Underscreened Kondo Effect”.  Science (Washington, DC, United States), (2010), 328(5984), 1370-1373.

• PhD, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1980
• MS, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1976
• BS, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1975

• Faraday Medal; Electrochemistry Section of the Royal Society, 2011
• Lind Lecturer, 2010
• D. C. Grahame Award from the Electrochemical Society, 2009
• Elected Fellow of the International Society of Electrochemistry, 2008
• C.N. Reilley Award from the Society for Electroanalytical Chemistry; 2008
• Elected Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2007
• American Chemical Society Award for Electrochemistry, 2007
• AAAS Fellow 2006-
• Fellow Ecole Normal Superieuere, Paris 2002
• Fellow Ministry of Education and Culture, Spain 2000-2001; 1991-1996
• Honorary Member, Dept. of Chem. Wuhan Univ. Wuhan, PRC 1999 -
• Fellow Generalitat Valenciana 1999-2000
• Iberdrola Fellow 1998-2002
• J. W. Fulbright Senior Fellow 1997
• J. S. Guggenheim Fellow 1992-1993
• Tajima Prize of the International Society of Electrochemistry 1987
• Alfred P. Sloan Fellow 1987 - 1989
• Presidential Young Investigator Award 1984 - 1989