Wednesday, July 8th, 2026, 11.00 am
Seminar room, first floor, U5 building
Title: Designing Electrochemical Interfaces for Hydrogen and Battery Technologies
Lecturer: prof. Daniele Vivona, School of Mechanical Aerospace and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Connecticut, USA
Abstract: Electrochemical energy technologies, including proton-exchange membrane water electrolyzers and lithium-ion batteries, rely on complex interfacial reactions that control both performance and lifetime. In these systems, degradation is often initiated by atomic-scale events, including defect formation, changes in local coordination and electronic structure, oxygen loss, parasitic reactions, and metal dissolution. Understanding how these processes emerge under operating conditions is essential for designing more active, stable, and sustainable electrochemical materials.
This talk will introduce research from the speaker’s newly established group focused on connecting atomistic transport, interfacial chemistry, and degradation mechanisms in electrochemical energy materials and interfaces. Two major research directions will be highlighted. The first focuses on iridium oxide dissolution during the oxygen evolution reaction, a critical challenge for proton-exchange membrane water electrolysis and future catalyst recycling strategies. This work investigates how defects and local reaction environments promote Ir dissolution, and how catalyst-support interactions may be used to tune both oxygen evolution activity and long-term stability. The second direction examines battery cathode/electrolyte interfaces, with emphasis on Ni-rich layered oxides and lithium- and manganese-rich Li-Ion cathodes. This work investigates the fundamental mechanisms of interfacial reactions, coupling electrochemical experiments with atomistic simulations. Together, these projects illustrate the broader goal of the group: to identify physically grounded descriptors of electrochemical stability and reactivity, and to use them to guide the design of improved catalysts, battery interfaces, and materials for next-generation energy devices.
Lecturer's biography: Daniele Vivona is an Assistant Professor in the School of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Manufacturing Engineering as well as the Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering Department at the University of Connecticut. He received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he was a MathWorks Mechanical Engineering Fellow, Rohsenow Graduate Fellow, and member of the MIT Society of Energy Fellows.
His research focuses on understanding the mechanisms governing energy conversion and degradation to design superior electrochemical energy systems, with particular attention to batteries and electrocatalysis. His group combines first-principles simulations, atomistic modeling, and electrochemical experiments to establish quantitative links between surface chemistry, reaction environments, and material stability. By integrating physics-based models with data-driven approaches, his work aims to develop predictive frameworks, and digital/physical “twins” for the design and lifetime control of electrochemical materials and devices.