Current Research 

One keyword for my research is electrochemistry, and a second keyword would be solid state chemistry. One major project since 1967 has been the study of solid electrolyte materials which may have potential usefulness for new batteries and other energy-related developments. These solid electrolyte materials have included silver compounds, fluorides, beta-alumina and glasses.

Our most recent work focuses on the highly conductive lithium sulfide glasses. NMR techniques are being used to complement electrochemical measurements to understand the conduction mechanisms in these potentially useful materials.

A second, more recent project is photoelectrochemistry. This field has grown rapidly during the last few years with the concept that water can be electrolyzed to hydrogen and oxygen with solar energy using semiconductor materials with acceptable bandgaps of 1.5-2.5 eV that show high efficiency for the photoelectrochemical reactions. At present our work has centered on iron oxide electrodes, but we continue to search for better materials for future investigation. In particular we are investigating the chemical products which are formed at an illuminated iron oxide electrode during electrolysis in various aqueous and non-aqueous media. Another recent approach is the use of thin films to produce high efficiency photoelectochemical cells. Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) is being used to study semiconductor surface properties and electron transfer processes.