(257w) Hull Cell Combinatorial Synthesis of Oxygen Evolution Catalysts

Discovery of novel materials for applications such as electrocatalysts, light absorbers, supercapacitors, and others involves the creation of large libraries of inorganic solid-state materials. Techniques to create these material libraries often involve the use of a series of masks and physical vapor depositions to create a library of material compositions. Electrodeposition methods offer an alternative, low-cost, and material-efficient way to create many novel inorganic solid-state materials. This research presents a high-throughput method for the combinatorial synthesis of novel electrocatalysts in a Hull cell, as well as methods for screening and characterization of these material libraries.

By creating electrodeposited libraries in the trapezoidally shaped Hull cell, the deposition conditions can be changed in a gradient across the working electrode. This allows for the creation of a library of testable materials in a single step. This research has focused on demonstrating this method to find a superior oxygen evolution catalyst by creating material libraries of mixed metal oxides, screening these materials for catalytic activity, and characterizing them with spectroscopic methods.