CAREER: Multimodal Single Entity Electrochemistry at Nanoscale Liquid/Liquid Interfaces

With support from the Chemical Measurement and Imaging Program in the Division of Chemistry, and co-funding from the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, Dr. Jiyeon Kim and her group at the University of Rhode Island are developing new experimental strategies to advance our understanding of electrochemistry occurring on very small spatial scales (nanometer) in nanoemulsions (NEs) and nanopipettes.

The work addresses important processes that occur at liquid/liquid interfaces, and seeks to elucidate the relationship between interfacial structure, function, and activity of these nano-objects. The long-range aim is to advance practical applications for rational and ultrasensitive analysis in diverse fields, including environmental monitoring, clinical diagnosis, and electrochemical energy storage/conversion.

Dr. Kim's group works to communicate the underlying nanoscience and its importance to the general public through educational and outreach activities that seek to explain the principles of nanoelectrochemistry at the liquid/liquid interface to undergraduate and high school students with a focus on women and other groups underrepresented in science-technology-engineering-mathematics (STEM) fields.

With this award, Dr. Kim's group at the University of Rhode Island is developing new experimental approaches to investigating ion- or electron-transfer (IT or ET) reactions across immiscible liquid/liquid interfaces in two distinct nanoscale domains - nanoemulsions (NEs) and nanopipettes. The work seeks to enable better practical applications through greater fundamental understanding.

Specifically, a new experimental approach of multimodal single-entity electrochemistry (SEE) is being used to obtain unequivocal kinetic and thermodynamic insights at nanoscale liquid/liquid interfaces of individual NEs or nanopipettes, thereby enhancing fundamental understanding of how the associated heterogeneous IT or ET reactions are affected by the structure, thermodynamic selectivity, and contamination of the interfacial surfaces. These emerging nanoscale platforms are envisioned to provide ultrasensitive analysis with high selectivity in diverse practical applications in environmental monitoring, clinical diagnosis, and electrochemical energy storage/conversion.

Advances may lead to implementation of nanoelectrochemistry in industrial settings, including mass production of commercially marketed NEs in food/drug/cosmetic industries.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.