Young investigator research group on electrocatalysis at HZB
Dr. Michelle Browne (here at her graduation ceremony in Dublin) starts now a Young Investigator Group at HZB. © privat
Dr. Michelle Browne establishes her own young investigator group at the HZB . Starting in August, the group is co-funded by the Helmholtz Association for the next five years. The electrochemist from Ireland concentrates on electrolytically active novel material systems and wants to develop next-generation electrocatalysts, for example hydrogen production. At HZB she will find the perfect environment to conduct her research.
Michelle Browne received her PhD in 2016 from the University of Dublin, Trinity College Dublin (TCD), Ireland. She held research fellow positions at universities in Belfast, Prague, and Dublin. She has received prestigious fellowships and awards, for example the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship, L’Oreal UNESCO Rising Talent UK & Ireland Fellowship and the Clara Immerwahr Award.
Her research focuses on the synthesis of novel catalytically active materials such as transition metal oxides and MXenes. She aims to characterise and optimise these material systems in order to develop next-generation electrolyzer materials that can also be upscaled for industrial use, in order to produce green hydrogen.
Electrocatalysis: Synthesis to Devices
Michelle Browne's research project fits perfectly with the research projects already underway at the Institute for Solar Fuels and within CatLab. "At HZB, I have a wide variety of investigation methods at my disposal, from scanning electron microscopy to the various instruments at BESSY II, which also allow operando analyses," she says.
Michelle Browne's affiliation with the Technische Universität Berlin in the Institute of Chemistry is planned. Starting in the fall, Browne will recruit postdocs and PhD students to join her team.
- Innovative Catalyst Platform Advances Understanding of Working CatalystsA novel catalyst platform, known as Laterally Condensed Catalysts (LCC), has been developed to enable design and analysis of the functional interface connecting the active mass to its support. This interface not only influences the chemical properties of the reactive interface but also controls its stability and hence the sustainability of the catalytic materials. The development was significantly supported by the use of operando spectroscopy at the BESSY II synchrotron, which made it possible to observe and understand the dynamic processes and structures under reaction conditions.
- Two Humboldt-Fellows join HZBIn 2024, two young scientists joined HZB as Humboldt Fellows. Kazuki Morita joined Prof. Antonio Abate's group and brings his expertise in modelling and data analysis to solar energy research. Qingping Wu is an expert in battery research and works with Prof. Yan Lu on high energy density lithium metal batteries.
- Less is more: Why an economical Iridium catalyst works so wellIridium-based catalysts are needed to produce hydrogen using water electrolysis. Now, a team at HZB has shown that the newly developed P2X catalyst, which requires only a quarter of the Iridium, is as efficient and stable over time as the best commercial catalyst. Measurements at BESSY II have now revealed how the special chemical environment in the P2X catalyst during electrolysis promotes the oxygen evolution reaction during water splitting.