Research on all aspects of materials and electrochemical engineering
The Barz Lab pursues academic and applied research on all aspects of materials and electrochemical engineering with applications ranging from energy and material conversion/printing to transport and interface phenomena. The lab performs research on electrochemical engineering, materials engineering, graphene, batteries, supercapacitor, hybrids, transport phenomena, interface phenomena, microfluidics, and microfabrication. The lab hosts a multitude of instruments for electrochemical characterization and fabrication, for characterization of dispersed systems, and for flow visualization in micro-scale devices. Additionally, the lab has expertise and tools for the numerical simulation of multi-physics problems.
Electro-development, graphene processing, electro-deposition, micro-fabrication, electrochemical characterization, materials characterization, particle analysis (zeta potential and size), electrokinetic phenomena, flow visualization in microsystems, computational fluid dynamics, characterization of absorbents, material printing and coating
- Automotive
- Chemical industries
- Clean technology
- Defence and security industries
- Education
- Energy
- Life sciences, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment
- Manufacturing and processing
- Mining, minerals and metals
Specialized labs and equipment
| Equipment | Function |
|---|---|
| Dantec Dynamics micro-particle image velocimetry instrument | Flow field visualization in micro-scale devices |
| Dantec Dynamics micro-laser-induced fluorescence imaging instrument | Concentration field visualization in micro-scale devices |
| Malvern Nano ZS zeta and particle sizer | Two-angle particle and molecular size analyzer for the enhanced detection of aggregates and measurement of small or dilute samples, and samples at very low or high concentration using dynamic light scattering. The ZSP also incorporates a zeta potential analyzer that uses electrophoretic light scattering for particles, molecules and surfaces, and a molecular weight analyzer using static light scattering. |
| Gravimetric instrument for characterization of absorbents | The gravimetric instrument is capable of measuring weight increase and decrease due to ab/desorption within pressure and temperature range of 0 and 50barg and ambient temperature to 100 deg C, respectively. The sensitivity of the gravimetric balance is 0.1 μg. |
| Metrohm Karl Fischer Titrator | This instrument uses coulometric titration to determine trace amounts of water in a sample. |
| Glovebox | Sealed container that allows us to manipulate objects in a separate atmosphere. |
| Metrohm Autolab potentiostat/galvanostat instruments | This high-end, high current potentiostat/galvanostat allows for a multitude of electrochemical characterization methods ranging from cyclic voltammetry (CV) to electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Additionally, the instrument can be used for electro-deposition. |
| PVA material dispenser | Automated dispensing platform with high flexibility to print/dispense almost any material/liquid |
| Four-point probe station | Thin-film/surface characterization |
| Arbin battery tester | Multi-channel testing of electrochemical energy storage systems |
| Vacuum oven | Materials processing in inert atmosphere |
| OGP Laser Scanning Systems | Surface visualization |
Private and public sector research partners
- E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company
- Hydrogenics Corp.