 Robert F. Savinell
Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh, 1977
Former Director of the Ernest B. Yeager Center of Electrochemical Sciences, 1991-2001
Fellow of the Electrochemical Society, 2000
NSF Presidential Young Investigator, 1984
George S. Dively Professor and Dean of Engineering
email: rfs2@case.edu
office: A.W. Smith, Room 124B
tel: (216) 368-2728
Personal Home Page
Focus
My research focuses on applying experimental and mathematical modeling techniques in order to understand physical and chemical processes in electrochemical systems such as fuel cells and sensors with the purpose of improving performance and innovating solutions to difficult problems.
Research
- Investigations leading to a stabilized PBI proton conducting membrane for high and low temperature operation
- Investigations leading to the understanding the proton conductivity mechanism of the PBI/phosphoric acid polymer membrane system
- Investigations leading to technique development for studying electrochemical oxygen reduction at the electrode polymer interface under conditions typical of an operating fuel cell, especially a high temperature polymer fuel cell
- Investigations of the mechanism of oxygen reduction at the polymer-electrode interface
- Investigations on fundamentals of structure and materials influence on performance of the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) in fuel cells and in MEA testing and diagnostic methodologies
- Non-precious metal catalysts for oxygen reduction in acid and alkali electrolytes
- Design, materials development, and integration for microfabricated fuel cells
Selected Publications
Gojkovic, S.Lj., Gupta, S. and Savinell, R.F., "Heat-Treated Iron (III) Tetramethoxyphenyl Porphyrin Chloride Supported On High-Area Carbon As An Electrocatalyst for Oxygen Reduction-Part III. Detection of Hydrogen Peroxide During Oxygen Reduction" , Electrochimica Acta, 45, 889-897 (1999).
Miyaki, N., Wainright, W.S. and R.F. Savinell, "Evaluation of a sol-gel Nafion/silica membrane of PEM fuel cell applications I-Proton conductivity and water content", J. Electrochem. Soc., 148, A898-A904(2001).
Schechter, A. and R.F. Savinell, "Imidazole and 1-methyl imidazole in phosphoric acid doped polybenzimidazole, electrolyte for fuel cells", Solid State Ionics', 147, 181-187 (2002).
Wainright, J.S., Litt, M.L. and R.F. Savinell, "High Temperature Membranes" chapter 38 in Fuel Cells, edited by H. Gasteiger, In Press.
Further Publications (PDF, 183K)
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