Facility for on-line product detection in selective electrocatalysis

This investment grant aims at setting up a facility for the online detection of volatile and dissolved products of important technological catalytic reactions at electrode surfaces. The facility involves integrating a mass spectrometer (MS) and a flow injection analysis (FIA) system with an electrochemical cell, in particular with a wall jet electrode system imposing well-defined hydrodynamic flow conditions in the cell that will facilitate rapid detection and quantitative calibration of both setups. The online MS will be based on a tip inlet covered with a hydrophobic membrane, for the detection of gaseous and volatile products. The online FIA will likewise be based on a capillary-based inlet and will be used to detect small non-volatile molecules, or molecules that are difficult to identify with MS. An important part of the Investment entails designing the online connections and the associated electrochemical cells, for which a technician will be employed. Consequently, both setups will be new and innovative and the facility as such will have no counterpart in the Netherlands or the world. The facility will be of great value and of crucial importance for our research program in selective electrocatalysis, in particular nitrate and nitrite reduction, methanol and ethanol oxidation, and carbon dioxide reduction. Various other (academic) research groups in the Netherlands have an interest or research projects in these reactions and the facility including technical support will be made available to them.