Faculty Research Webinar "Putting a New Spin on Oxygen Intermediates: Radical Reactivity in Unexpected Places" Prof. Joaquín Rodríguez-López
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Wednesday, April 22, 2026
5:30-6:30 pm
Abstract
I have always been fascinated by the versatile reactivity of oxygenated species in solution: a simple battery can generate some of the strongest oxidizing species from just water and air. Understanding reactive oxygen species (ROS) is critical to many electrochemical technologies that are key to a renewable and sustainable future, including fuel cells, batteries, atmospheric gas capture systems, and water remediation methods. In this talk, I will introduce new methods for the real-time detection of a variety of ROS at electrodes of interest, including radicals during the oxidation of water on diamond surfaces[1], oxygen as Li-ion batteryelectrodes degrade [2], and the elusive singlet oxygen on battery material precursors[3]. Beyond electrodes, soft interfaces such as those resulting from sonicated water microdroplets generated in biphasic oil/water systems unexpectedly show the generation of ROS, pointing to new pathways to prompt redox reactivity[4] in a wireless manner. These microdroplets surprisingly enable complex transformations such as polymer deconstruction [5] enabled by ROS and related species, a key step towards addressing polymer-to-valuable molecule strategies. Overall, our methods are enabling a new understanding of the role of oxygenated intermediates in critical technologies for a cleaner and more energy efficient world.
[1] J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2022, 18896; [2] J. Electrochem. Soc. 2022, 086501; [3] J. Am Chem. Soc. 2024, 8847; [4] J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2025, 11851. [5] ChemRxiv 2025.
Prof. Joaquín Rodríguez-López
Professor of Chemistry
Bio
Joaquín Rodríguez-López is a Professor of Chemistry and University Scholar (2024) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, with affiliation to the Illinois Materials Research Laboratory and the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology.
Recognition to Joaquin’s work has come through awards such as the the Zhaowu Tian Prize for Energy Electrochemistry (ISE, 2021), The Arthur Findeis Award for Achievements by a Young Analytical Scientist (ACS DAC, 2020), the Royce W. Murray Young Investigator Award (SEAC, 2017), a Toyota-Electrochemical Society Young Investigator Fellowship (2017) and the Sloan Research Fellowship (2016) amongst others. He was also named by The Analytical Scientist as a 40-under-40 investigator (2022) and by Science News 10 Scientists to Watch (2018).
Joaquín has received various teaching recognitions through the School of Chemical Sciences Faculty Teaching Award (2023), he has been selected eight times to the List of Teachers Ranked Excellent by their Students, and recently was recognized with the LAS Dean’s Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award (2026), and both the Campus Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching (2026) and for Excellence in Guiding Undergraduate Research (2026).
His outreach programs include “The Electrochemical Bootcamp” now in its 11th annual edition, providing experimental training on electroanalysis to scientists – from undergraduate to early career PIs.
Learn more about his research group and activities at Rodríguez - López Laboratory: Advanced Electroanalysis for Energy Materials
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