DEFENCE OF THE DOCTORAL DISSERTATION BY OŽBEJ VODEB

Defence of the Doctoral Dissertation by Ožbej Vodeb

IPS invites you to the Defence of the Doctoral Dissertation by Ožbej Vodeb titled: Comparing simulation and experiments for interpreting the mechanisms of electrochemical oxidation. The defence will take place on Thursday, 23 July 2026, at 2:00 p.m. at the IPS Lecture Room (N205-N206, Jamova c. 39, 1000 Ljubljana). You can also join the defence via the following link: Zoom, Meeting ID: 835 9132 9589, Passcode: 814651.

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Nejc Hodnik.

Short summary:

The rising demand for alternative energy sources has brought hydrogen based technologies to the forefront as promising contributors to future energy systems. As these technologies develop, a deeper understanding of the electrode–electrolyte interface becomes essential, along with mathematical models that accurately capture its behavior. This thesis presents the most widely used model equations for interpreting laboratory scale rotating disk electrode (RDE) experiments and evaluates how effectively it explains experimental data.

The thesis begins by outlining the need for electrocatalysts in the context of the global climate crisis. I provide the mathematical foundation of the model and the necessary details on how to use the model in interpreting data. The model is then wrapped up in a custom build library, so that the mathematics can be immediately used for simulation.

Building on this foundation and using ElectroKitty, I analyze three RDE based systems (single-crystal Pt, polycrystalline Ni, and Ir nanoparticles) to explore the types of insights that can be extracted through mean field approximations. These systems are studied individually, one for each Chapterprogressing from the simplest to the most complex. Each chapter concludes with a short discussion of the specific conclusions that can be drawn for that system.

Finally, in the concluding chapter, I summarize the overall insights gained and discuss the types of conclusions that can reasonably be drawn from such models.

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