Elena Rolfi
PhD thesis title: In situ electrochemical sum-frequency generation microscopy for battery studies
Academic Tutor: Andrea Pola
Academic Supervisors: Benedetto Bozzini and Giulio Cerullo
PhD cycle: 40° (see all student profiles of the same cycle > LINK)
BSc: Mathematics (curriculum Physics), Catholic University of Brescia
MSc: Physics (curriculum Physics for technologies and innovation), Catholic University of Brescia
Thesis abstract
My PhD thesis is highly interdisciplinary, combining nonlinear spectroscopy and electrochemistry to achieve otherwise inaccessible molecular-level information on the active electrode interfaces. Sum Frequency Generation (SFG) is a second-order nonlinear optical process where two incident laser beams interact with the sample to generate a new beam at the sum frequency. SFG can arise only in a medium lacking centro-symmetry, making SFG spectroscopy a surface-sensitive technique. The functional interfaces present in a battery are non-centrosymmetric, so they can be studied selectively.
Personal interest in my research theme
Surface SFG spectroscopy is a very versatile technique: its approach based on symmetry breaking makes it suitable for studying different types of interfaces, so it can be applied to a wide range of fields, from biology to nanomaterials. I think this makes it a very appealing technique for many applications.
Moreover, my interest in ultrafast optics also encompasses other techniques, such as pump-probe spectroscopy, with particular attention to the generation and use of UV pump beams, which allow to study insulating materials, such as surface oxides that spontaneously form on metal interfaces.
Moreover, my interest in ultrafast optics also encompasses other techniques, such as pump-probe spectroscopy, with particular attention to the generation and use of UV pump beams, which allow to study insulating materials, such as surface oxides that spontaneously form on metal interfaces.
