Will Phillips

A talented PhD electrochemist seeking to advance the materials science community through expert electrochemistry and characterization.

Graduate Research Associate

DuChene Lab, University of Massachusetts Amherst – Amherst, MA 2020 – present

• Operated lab scale electrochemical reactors for the electrochemical reduction of nitrate to form ammonia, yielding 98% Faradaic efficiency
• Investigated product selectivity and electron transfer kinetics effects on copper catalyst faceting, determining that would be the most efficient catalyst to produce ammonia
• Led a 6-member interdisciplinary collaboration to develop an electrochemical mechanism for nitrate reduction to inform computational prediction and catalyst design 
• Determined the oxidation potential of methanol, benzyl alcohol, and citrate on Pt and Au electrodes
• Mentored 4 graduate and 11 undergraduate students in nanoparticle synthesis and electrochemistry

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory – Richland, WA

• Improved cathode design of batteries for grid-level storage through investigating natural versus synthetic graphite, communicating results company-wide via a poster session
• Assessed performance via electrochemical reversibility, cell lifetime, and charging rate analysis

Obtained my PhD in chemistry with a focus on electrocatalysis at UMass Amherst, studying the nitrate reduction reaction in Joe DuChene's lab.