Electrochemical Engineering in an Age of Discovery and Innovation

Electrochemical phenomena play a central role in the fabrication as well as the functional capabilities of great many materials, processes, and devices . . .. from biological ion channels, to on-chip interconnections between transistors, and the spontaneous behavior of millions of corrosion sites on a metal as they interact to result in a catastrophic failure. The common feature of these example systems, along with a great many others, is that their behavior is largely determined as a result of concerted interactions based primarily on electrochemical phenomena that extend over many length scales. Electrochemical phenomena control the existence and movement of charged species in the bulk, as well as across interfaces between, ionic, electronic, semiconductor, photonic, and dielectric materials. The existing technology base of the electrochemical field is massive and long-standing (Srinivasan and Lipp, 2003; National Materials Advisory Board, 1986). The pervasive occurrence of these phenomena in technological devices and processes, as well as in natural systems, is illustrated by several examples: