Department of Chemistry Seminar – Dr. Jeffrey Bell

About the event

Speaker: Dr. Jeffrey Bell

Host: Dr. Eric Roalson

Title: Interfacial Control: Magnetic Fields and Additive Manufacturing for Sustainable Electrochemistry

Abstract: Electrochemical technologies play crucial roles in advancing global health, sustainable energy, and environmental monitoring, yet they are often limited by processes occurring at the interface—where chemical reactivity directly impacts system performance. Whether in the form of unstable solid–electrolyte interphases in batteries or biofouling of sensors in biological media, these interfacial failures result in inefficiencies, instability, and inaccessibility. This talk presents our groups strategy to control electrochemical interfaces through a simplicity-driven approach, leveraging physical fields and additive manufacturing as powerful, modular tools. The first part of the talk will address the challenges of aqueous electrochemical systems, particularly in Zn-based batteries where dendrite growth, redox irreversibility, and ion crossover hinder practical deployment. By applying static magnetic fields—a zero-energy, contactless tool—we demonstrate significant improvements in plating uniformity, capacity retention, and efficiency across various chemistries, mechanisms and battery configurations. These magnetic strategies lead to control over ion flux and interfacial homogeneity which can delay system failure and increase reversibility without introducing new materials or rely on complex interfacial engineering strategies. The second part of the talk will focus on sensing platforms, where accessibility and adaptability are paramount. Here, 3D printing becomes a tool for democratizing diagnostics. Using both stereolithographic (SLA) and fused deposition modeling (FDM) techniques, we fabricate entirely printable potentiometric sensors, which can be tailored for determining diverse ions (sodium, magnesium, potassium, etc.). These sensors are deployable, stable in biofluids, and capable of competing with commercially available sensors at a fraction of the cost. The primary theme of this talk is that simple, physical tools—magnetism, geometry, and system design—can be as powerful as advanced materials when applied to addressing bottlenecks in electrochemical performance while promoting scalability and sustainability.