Applicant: Anna Ciotti
Home institution: Politecnico di Torino
Host institution: Tartu University, Tartu, Estonia
STSM title: Integrating First-Principles Modelling and Experiments for CO2 Electroreduction on Bi(111) Model Catalysts
Dates: 6–19 September 2026
The group at the University of Tartu, led by Prof. Pikma, has expertise in handling Bi(111) single crystals, while the group led by Prof. Cicero at Politecnico di Torino specialises in simulating electrochemical CO2RR and HER on metal surfaces, including potential effects and solvation models that account for differences between alkaline and acidic proton donors. The collaboration between these groups therefore provides an excellent opportunity to benchmark theoretical calculations against experimental results.
During this STSM, solutions with different pH values were prepared for CV and chronopotentiometry measurements. Specifically, NaClO4 solutions were acidified with HClO4 to obtain pH values ranging from 4 to 7.30. The aim was to determine the time required for neutralisation of the solution in the vicinity of a Bi(111) electrode under stationary conditions. This timescale is pH-dependent, with higher proton concentrations requiring longer neutralisation times. Such analysis enables the extraction of kinetic parameters, including the charge-transfer coefficient and a unified kinetic constant for HER at the electrode. These parameters can then be compared with kinetic constants and activation barriers computed for acidic and alkaline HER reaction pathways via density functional theory.
