Osmando Lopes

Visitor

In the next 3 months, Prof. Osmando Ferreira Lopes will join the Cherevko Lab to investigate the degradation mechanisms of Sn and Bi-based catalysts used in the electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR). His research will focus on studying the metal dissolution processes occurring under operational CO2RR conditions. This will be carried out using online inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), which enables a direct correlation between dissolution behavior and specific electrochemical events — a key step toward improving the durability and commercial viability of CO2RR technologies. The project aims to uncover how parameters such as electrolyte composition and pH impact stability and degradation pathways.

Our research group has been successfully developing electrocatalysts with high activity and selectivity for CO2 reduction,” says Lopes. “However, stability remains the most critical parameter. This collaboration with Dr. Cherevko’s group — a world-leading reference in the study of metal dissolution using online ICP-MS — will enable us to investigate and understand how dissolution processes impact catalyst stability under realistic electrochemical conditions. I believe this is just the first visit, and we will establish a long-term collaboration with the group of Dr. Cherevko.

Prof. Lopes holds a PhD in Chemistry and is a professor at the Federal University of Uberlândia (UFU), Brazil. His research group is particularly focused on the development of elecrocatalyst for CO2 reduction reaction using gas diffusion electrodes. He previously conducted research as a visiting scientist at Forschungszentrum Jülich and was awarded a fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.