Welcome!

The McNicholas lab is a physical inorganic and materials group interested in both electrochemical and catalytic applications as well as fundamental electronic structure. We use a combination of spectroscopic and electrochemical techniques to develop and characterize next-generation energy conversion and storage technologies. We are particularly interested in two promising energy storage architectures:

---Monovalent and multivalent cation batteries employing metal inorganic framework cathodes and anodes

---Non-aqueous redox flow batteries employing homogeneous or heterogeneous multi-electron transfer electrolytes

Additionally, the development of more efficient and stable catalysts for small molecule reduction and oxidation, specifically those related to photoelectrochemical water oxidation, fuel cell technology, CO₂ reduction, and N₂ fixation, is an active area of research.

Finally, our group is also interested in the fundamental electronic structure of porphyrinoids and charge transfer complexes.

Our students develop a strong background in molecular and solid-state inorganic chemistry, with particular focus on electrochemical techniques, molecular and materials synthesis, computational chemistry, and spectroscopic techniques, including magnetic circular dichroism, X-ray absorption and emission, Raman, and spectroelectrochemistry.