Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences
Tohoku University

Dealloying is an electrochemical phenomenon in which one or more alloy components selectively dissolve into an environment medium from a parent alloy and the remaining component(s) re-organize into a bicontinuous structure by nanoscale interfacial diffusion. The materials processed by this technique possess a macroscopic bulk form whereas having a nanoscale porous microstructure with well-defined topology and large surface-to-volume ratios (fig). The abundant 2D surfaces/interfaces in these 3D materials are well accessible to electrons from the interconnected metallic backbones and ions/molecules from the coherent open pores and offer a novel platform for matter-matter interactions and charge/energy transfers. These materials are hence promising for carrying catalytic chemical and electrochemical reactions and for applications in the related functional devices. My research focuses on this unique category of materials and their coupling with electrochemistry, including: (1) the development of new dealloying principles for the processing of 3D nanoporous structures; (2) the development of new nanoporous material systems beyond conventional metals, such as nanoporous carbon/graphene and inorganic composites; and (3) exploration of surface/interface electrochemistry in these 3D nanoporous platforms that are relevant to energy conversion and storage (fuel cells, electrolyzers, next-generation batteries, etc.).