The proposed course will cover briefly the most important aspects of electrochemistry with a major
emphasis on its application in materials for the reversible energy storage. The objective is to
provide an understanding of the fundamentals of the electrode reactions and of the principles of
electrochemical methods.
The use of voltamperometric techniques will be discussed to describe the insertion/de-insertion
and the deposition/stripping processes occurring during the redox reactions of active materials in
an electrochemical cell. The attention will be devoted on how the reversibility, efficiency,
overpotential and kinetics of such reactions can be gauged by means different ex-situ
electrochemical methods. Moreover, a description of the principal ac techniques, such as the
electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), will be given, with a particular reference on how
they can provide information on the changes in the cell properties during cycling. In details, EIS
can supply in-depth details on the evolution of the electrode-electrolyte interfaces. Finally, the
course will focus its attention on the device testing of different active materials under specific
procedures, thus achieving a deeper understanding on the peculiarities of the investigated
compounds. In this fragment, several examples of electrochemical devices for the reversible
storage of energy will be taken under consideration.
In summary, the lectures and the discussion will give an insight in applications of several
electrochemical methodologies. These will be followed by laboratory exercises which will give a
hands-on experience of real electrochemical experiments.
8 hours