Short Course #4 Fundamentals of Electrochemistry Jamie Noël, Instructor
This course is suited to people with a physical sciences background who have not been trained as electrochemists, but who want to add electrochemical methods to their repertoire of research approaches. There are many fields in which researchers originally approach their work from another discipline but then discover that it would be avantageous to understand and use some electrochemical methods to complement the other work that they are doing. The course will cover the following areas.
Introduction and Overview of Electrode Processes
Chemical vs. Electrochemical Thermodynamics
cell potentials, Nernst equation, electrode-solution interface, double-Layer structure, and adsorption
applications in analytical electrochemistry and sensors
Chemical Stiochiometry vs. Faraday’s Law
coulommetry, bulk electrolysis
Chemical vs. Electrochemical Kinetics
electrode reactions, rates, mechanisms and rate constants, mass transport, Butler-Volmer, Tafel, and Levich equations
Kinetic Methodology
potential step and sweep methods, polarography, controlled-current techniques, controlled mass transport approaches, rotating electrodes, microelectrodes, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy
Electrochemical Instrumentation
voltmeters, potentiostats, cells
Scanning Probe Techniques
scanning electrochemical microscopy, AFM, etc.
Coupled Characterization Methods
modified electrodes, spectroelectrochemistry, neutron scattering, surface analysis, etc.
Analytical and Industrial Applications
About the Instructor
Jamie Noël obtained his BSc (1987) and MSc (1990) degrees from the University of Guelph where he worked with Dr. Jacek Lipkowski on carbon monoxide electrooxidation kinetics on glassy Pt alloys.
He then worked for Ontario Hydro Research on developing corrosion inhibitors for use in decontamination of the primary side heat transfer system in CANDU nuclear reactors. In 1991 he joined the Corrosion and Electrochemistry Section of Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. in Pinawa, Manitoba, to study the corrosion of titanium in support of the Canadian Nuclear Fuel Waste Management Program. Concurrent with his work at AECL, he earned his PhD (2000) through the University of Manitoba.
Dr. Noël joined the University of Western Ontario in London, Canada in 1998 as a research scientist and adjunct professor in the Department of Chemistry. He assists professors David Shoesmith and Clara Wren in training and directing students and teaching electrochemistry at the graduate level. He uses electrochemical and other surface analytical techniques to study the corrosion of nuclear reactor components and nuclear waste management systems materials, including carbon steel, titanium, zirconium, copper, nickel alloys, and the uranium dioxide fuel itself. He successfully led the proposal to build Canada’s national neutron reflectometer and continues to develop techniques to combine electrochemical measurements with in situ neutron scattering. He is co-author of over 40 journal articles, 28 conference proceedings, 2 book chapters, and 10 company reports.
