Byron H. Farnum
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Associate Professor

Research Areas: Inorganic , Physical

Office: 257 Chemistry Building

Address: 179 Chemistry Building
Auburn, AL 36849

Phone: (334)-844-3744

Email: farnum@auburn.edu

Website


Education
Johns Hopkins University, M.S./Ph.D.
2012
University of South Carolina, B.S.
2008


Professional Employment
Associate Professor, Auburn University
2022 - present
Assistant Professor, Auburn University
2016 - 2022
Post-doctoral Research Associate, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
2012 - 2016


Honors and Awards
NSF CAREER Award
2020
UNC Postdoctoral Award for Research Excellence
2015
Perkin Medal Scholarship
2011
JHU Chemistry Alumni Graduate Fellowship
2011


Research and Teaching Interests

Our research efforts are focused on photo/electrochemical reactions of inorganic nanomaterials and small molecules. These efforts are driven by broad interests in solar energy conversion, electrochemical energy storage, and optoelectronics. Our primary objective is to advance the fundamental knowledge related to homogeneous and heterogeneous electron transfer reactions, and how these reactions can be used effectively in photo/electrochemical applications. Our lab intersects the broad areas of inorganic and physical chemistry where we use a combination of solution and sol-gel based synthetic methods to produce unique and exciting inorganic molecules and solid state nanomaterials and then probe their photochemical, electrochemical, and thermochemical properties. The many techniques used to probe these physical properties include: Electrochemistry (CV, RRDE, Impedance), Spectroscopy (UV-Vis, Near-IR, FTIR, NMR, EPR, XPS), and Microscopy (SEM, TEM).



Selected Publications



    1. Bredar, A.R.C.a; Blanchet, M.D.a; Burton, A.R.; Matthews, B.E.; Spurgeon, S.R.; Comes, R.B.*; Farnum, B.H.* "Oxygen Reduction Electrocatalysis with Epitaxially Grown Spinel MnFe2O4 and Fe3O4" ACS Catal. 2022, 12, 3577-3588. (aEqual Contribution) (doi: 10.1021/acscatal.1c05172)
    2. Burton, A.R.a; Paudel, R.a; Matthews, B.E.; Sassi, M.; Spurgeon, S.R.; Farnum, B.H.*; Comes, R.B.* "Thickness Dependent OER Electrocatalysis of Epitaxial LaFeO3 Thin Films" J. Mater. Chem. A 2022, 10, 1909-1918. (aEqual Contribution) (doi: 10.1039/d1ta07142d)
    3. Mazumder, M.M.R.; Burton, A.R.; Richburg, C.S.; Saha, S.; Cronin, B.; Duin, E.C.; Farnum, B.H.* "Controlling One-Electron vs Two-Electron Pathways in the Multi-Electron Redox Cycle of Nickel Diethyldithiocarbamate" Inorg. Chem. 2021, 60, 13388-13399. (doi: 10.1021/acsinorgchem.1c01699)
    4. Bredar, A.R.C.a; Chown, A.L.a; Burton, A.R.a; Farnum, B.H.* "Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy of Metal Oxide Electrodes for Energy Applications" ACS Appl. Energy Mater. 2020, 3, 66-98. (aEqual Contribution) (doi: 10.1021/acsaem.9b01965)
    5. Bredar, A.R.C.; Blanchet, M.D.; Comes, R.B.; Farnum, B.H.* "Evidence and Influence of Copper Vacancies in p-Type CuGaO2 Mesoporous Films" ACS Appl. Energy Mater. 2019, 2, 19-28. (doi: 10.1021/acsaem.8b01558)






Last updated: 10/17/2022