Humboldt-Fellow at HZB: Kayode Adesina Adegoke

Kayode Adesina Adegoke is a renowned chemist, affiliated with LAUTECH SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities Research Group), Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Nigeria. He is collaborating with Matthew Mayer, head of the "Electrochemical Conversion group", to investigate the degradation of electrocatalysts during electrochemical CO₂ reduction. The Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship enables him to stay at Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin up to 24 months.

Adegoke’s research has led him from Nigeria to South Africa, where he has earned his doctorate in chemistry at the University of Pretoria in 2020. He has worked as a researcher and lecturer in University of Johannesburg, First Technical University, Ibadan Nigeria, and Walter Sisulu University, South Africa and as visiting researcher to School of Chemical Engineering, Newcastle University, United Kingdom, sponsored by the Analytical Chemistry Trust Fund, Developing World Scholarship under the Royal Society of Chemistry. He has already published more than 100 scientific papers in international high-impact journals.

During his Alexander von Humboldt-Fellowship at HZB, he plans to investigate the degradation mechanisms of electrocatalysts during electrochemical CO₂ reduction under industrially relevant conditions. ‘A key question is how structural, morphological, and electronic changes influence activity, selectivity, and long-term stability’, he explains. Furthermore, he aims to establish a unified stability evaluation protocol for benchmarking CO₂ reduction reaction catalysts.

He chose to join HZB for its interdisciplinary environment with state-of-the-art facilities for in situ/operando characterisation, advanced electrochemical analysis, and electrolyser testing.  ‘I wanted to work with Matthew Mayer, who heads the "Electrochemical Conversion" group, because of his outstanding work on advanced materials, electrocatalysis, and nanostructured interfaces for energy conversion. This complements my own expertise in nano-architectured electrocatalysts for CO₂ reduction very well’, he says. ‘The Mayer group has experience with industrially relevant CO₂ electrolysis systems, and stability evaluation protocols, which aligns perfectly with the objectives of my ECO₂Stable project.’

Asked for his further plans, he adds: ‘I am excited about building long-term partnerships between Germany and my home institution in sustainable energy research. Most of all, I look forward to contributing meaningfully to the global effort to convert CO₂ into valuable chemicals while deepening my professional independence as an AvH Fellow.’