THE CENTRE

What is electrochemical technology?

Electrochemical technology covers the whole range of technologies that involve chemical processes that are driven by the application of an electric current, or which produce an electrical potential as a result of a chemical reaction. Some of these are familiar processes, such as the electrolytic production of aluminum, electroplating of metals, and the development of advanced batteries. Other applications include the deposition of thin films of semiconductors on metals surfaces, useful in the production of solar energy devices and photocopying materials, and the development of sensors based on molecules that are engineered at the molecular scale: so-called nanotechnologies.
Many familiar analytical devices such as pH meters and oxygen sensors already employ electrochemical principles. Among other developments is the destruction of wastes by electrolysis, an application that finds a niche when conventional treatment methods fail.
Electrochemical synthesis is an area with tremendous possibilities in the context of “green chemistry”, offering the prospect of carrying out oxidations and reductions “with just electrons as reagents”.

Why Guelph?
Guelph’s Electrochemical Technology Centre brings together one of the greatest concentrations of electrochemical researchers in Canada. Long an area of intensive research in Europe and Japan, electrochemistry has been underdeveloped in Canada. Yet the examples presented herein show that electrochemical research can play a vital part in promoting Canada’s economic wellbeing. In Southern Ontario, the University of Guelph is ideally located to form research partnerships with the private and government sectors. Add to this a team of leading researchers with significant outside funding, and the result is a research-intensive university, with the desire to play a leading role in fundamental and applied research in electrochemistry.