Dr. Thomas Arruda

Areas of Expertise

• Physical chemistry, energy, alternative energy, fuel cells, batteries, supercapacitors, electrochemistry

Education

• B.S. in chemistry, University of Massachusetts (2004)
• Ph.D. in chemistry, Northeastern University (2010)

View My CV

What's My Why?

I came to Salve in 2013 to teach undergraduates because that is my passion. I have the pleasure of teaching students early on as first years in general chemistry and at the junior/senior level in physical chemistry. Watching their growth over these four years is the most rewarding part of my job. Physical chemistry is a notoriously challenging course. Seeing how my students attack this challenge is always inspirational. 

Professional Experience

Following the completion of my Ph.D. at Northeastern, I worked as a postdoctoral research associate at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory under the guidance of Dr. Sergei V. Kalinin. During that time I used multiple scanning probe microscopy techniques to correlate material properties to the electrochemical behavior of battery and supercapacitor materials.

Media Coverage

http://phys.org/news/2012-08-explore-li-air-battery-reversibility-nanoscale.html 

Selected Publications

Arruda, Thomas M., et al. “Investigation into the Competitive and Site-Specific Nature of Anion Adsorption on Pt Using in Situ X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy.” Journal of Physical Chemistry C, vol. 112, no. 46, 2008, pp. 18087–97, https://doi.org/10.1021/jp8067359.

Dubourdieu, Catherine, et al. “Switching of Ferroelectric Polarization in Epitaxial BaTiO₃ Films on Silicon without a Conducting Bottom Electrode.” Nature Nanotechnology, vol. 8, no. 10, 2013, pp. 748–54, https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2013.192.

Herranz, Juan, et al. “Unveiling N-Protonation and Anion-Binding Effects on Fe / N / C Catalysts for O 2 Reduction in Proton-Exchange-Membrane Fuel Cells.” Journal of Physical Chemistry C, vol. 115, 2011, pp. 16087–97.

Kramm, Ulrike I., et al. “Structure of the Catalytic Sites in Fe/N/C-Catalysts for O2-Reduction in PEM Fuel Cells.” Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, vol. 14, no. 33, 2012, p. 11673, https://doi.org/10.1039/c2cp41957b.

Martin, Dominik, et al. “Ferroelectricity in Si-Doped HfO2 Revealed: A Binary Lead-Free Ferroelectric.” Advanced Materials, vol. 26, no. 48, 2014, pp. 8198–202, https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201403115.