Magnetically enhanced electrocatalysis

forthcoming

In the last years, electrochemistry and electrocatalysis are increasing their impact across several fields. A major driving force comes from the promise of substituting current fossil-fuel powered thermal methods in the industry by electrochemical alternatives, driven by renewable electricity. However, electrochemical methods are still far from reaching the desired target performance. In this landscape, the recent discovery of magnetic fields enhancing electrocatalytic processes offers a plausible new strategy. The idea of boosting an electrocatalytic reaction by an external magnetic field becomes highly persuasive. Still, the origin of this phenomenon is hardly understood, given its complexity: dealing with a magnetic field, in an electric field, on a dynamic surface, during a chemical reaction is a multiple-body problem. Our objective is to foster magneto-electrocatalysis by exploring rigorously the interplay between magnetic fields and electrocatalytic performance from atomic resolution in model systems up to full cell devices. This can only be achieved by a synergetic effort between experts in catalysis, surface science, magnetism and theory. We will focus on two relevant reactions: the spin-restricted water oxidation and the carbon dioxide reduction, both potentially spin-sensitive. Our aim is to validate the structural, electronic and magnetic key descriptors controlling this phenomenon, assessed by complementary ex-situ and operando data within the corresponding theoretical framework. Computational tools will consolidate the understanding and quantify the different mechanistic contributions to microscopic and macroscopic observations. The ambition with MAGNESIS is to define, in a rigorous way, the first principles and ultimate possibilities of magnetic fields in the development of advanced electrocatalytic methods, pioneering the novel field of magneto-electrochemical science & technology.