Celebrating electrocatalysis at Imperial: past, present and future

Imperial Materials welcomed alumni, researchers and industry colleagues for a day celebrating its electrocatalysis research and the people who have helped shape it.

Held on 4 November as part of the Royal School of Mines’ 175th anniversary celebrations, the symposium was organised by Professor Ifan Stephens and Dr Reshma R Rao. It brought alumni and colleagues back to the department to share their work, reconnect and meet the researchers taking the field forward today. 

Celebrating the breadth of electrocatalysis 

For Professor Stephens, who studied Materials at Imperial as an undergraduate, the anniversary had a personal significance. 

“It’s amazing to think that I first walked through these doors exactly 30 years ago, in the RSM’s 145th year. I graduated in 2001, but somehow found my way back in 2017 as a Senior Lecturer. Obviously, it must be true love!” he said. “Today, I was delighted by the quality of the presentations and the breadth of research. They covered everything from fundamental understanding at the atomic scale to practical devices and scale-up, including spectroscopy, aqueous and non-aqueous electrocatalysis, catalyst activity and stability, critical metals, and even applications in batteries. It was particularly pleasing to see so much engagement from the audience, including researchers from Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and even other institutions.” 

Invited speakers included Professor Núria López from the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ), Dr Saurav Chandra Sarma from Johnson Matthey Technology Centre, Professor Laurie King from Manchester Metropolitan University and Dr. Andy Wain from The National Physical Laboratory (NPL). Alongside the talks, poster presentations gave students and early career researchers the chance to share their results and discuss them with visiting speakers and alumni. 

Research for a more sustainable future 

Electrocatalysis involves developing materials that accelerate chemical reactions at electrodes, making electrochemical devices more efficient. With renewable electricity, it could offer cleaner ways to make fuels and chemicals, but there are still challenges in finding materials that work efficiently and selectively as well as last under practical operating conditions. 

The day’s programme covered hydrogen production, carbon dioxide and nitrogen reduction, and organic oxidation to produce useful chemicals. A shared question ran through these topics: how can a better understanding of reactions at a material’s surface help us develop better technologies? 

Dr Rao said: “Thereis a lot we can learn from bringing people working on different reactions together. Often, weare asking similar questions about how a catalyst worksor what limits its performance. Talking about those questions, with people at different stages of their careers, was an important part of the day.” 

The anniversary was also a chance to recognise how former students and researchers continue to contribute to the department through collaborations, shared ideas and their work beyond the department. 

“One of the highlights for me was seeing the enthusiasm of the participants. Many of them - including undergraduate research project (UROP) students and PhD students - were presenting posters of their investigations for the first time. It was wonderful to see them disseminating their work with experienced scientists from academia and industry. I hope this will be a formative experience for them as they progress through their careers.”