ELCAT, which stands for 'Surface Electrochemical Reactivity in Electrocatalysis: A combined Theoretical and Experimental Approach', is a network of experimentalists and theoreticians working in the field of electrocatalysis. The aim of this network, which is funded by the European Union, is to train a new generation of young researchers in experimental and theoretical research methods in electrocatalysis. The scientific objectives are to address the problem of achieving specific reactivity in electrochemical transformations and to establish predictive tools based on quantum chemical calculations and computational modeling.
Four important electrochemical reactions (oxygen, nitrate and carbon dioxide reduction and oxygen
evolution), have been chosen for their general importance in energy production, environmental control and clean chemicals production. While reactions at the solid/gas interface have already been the subject of many years of research in gas-phase chemistry and surface science, e.g. heterogeneous catalysis, within this project we aim to further this knowledge for a deeper understanding of electrocatalytic reactions. The research topic of ELCAT, electrocatalysis, investigates surface electrochemical reactions that are strongly influenced by adsorption at the electrode surface. The research topic comprises two aspects, the properties of electrode materials and the kinetics and mechanism of the heterogeneous electron transfer reactions to be studied. The scientific issues involved are currently under intense debate worldwide and relate to the need to establish clear relationships between structure and reactivity.
