Rodney Smith’s research involves the study of electrocatalysts for use in sustainable energy storage systems. His research examines the chemistry of electrode surfaces, measures electron transfer kinetics and probes electrochemical reaction dynamics in an effort to guide the design and fabrication of solid-state electrocatalysts. He will begin his position as Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry in May 2017. Inorganic materials Electrocatalysis Reaction dynamics Reaction kinetics Energy storage 2012 PhD Electrochemistry, Memorial University of Newfoundland, NL 2007 BSc Honours Chemistry, University of Manitoba, MB

Rodney Smith's research interests lie in the fabrication and characterization of solid-state materials that mediate the electrochemical synthesis of sustainable fuels. Rodney develops innovative fabrication techniques, examines the structure of materials, and studies reaction kinetics and dynamics in an effort to improve the efficiency and selectivity of reactions such as electrochemical CO2 reduction. The research is interdisciplinary in nature, involving materials synthesis and a diverse selection of spectroscopic and electrochemical techniques.

Rodney D. L.
Smith, Rebecca S. Sherbo, Kevan D. Dettelbach, Curtis P. Berlinguette 
”On How Experimental Conditions Affect the Electrochemical Response of Disordered Nickel Oxyhydroxide Films” Chem. Mater., 2016, DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.6b01420. Rodney D. L. Smith, Curtis P. Berlinguette “Accounting for the Dynamic Oxidative Behavior of Nickel Anodes” 
J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2016, 138, 1561-1567. Rodney D. L. Smith, Barbora Sporinova, Randal D. Fagan, Simon Trudel, Curtis P. Berlinguette, 
 “Facile photochemical preparation of amorphous iridium-oxide films for water oxidation catalysis” Chem. Mater., 2014, 26, 1654-1659. Rodney D. L. Smith, Mathieu S. Prévot, Randal D. Fagan, Simon Trudel, Curtis P. Berlinguette “Water oxidation catalysis: electrocatalytic response to metal stoichiometry in amorphous 
metal oxide films containing iron, cobalt and nickel” J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2013, 135, 11580-11586. Rodney D. L.
Smith, Mathieu S. Prévot, Randal D. Fagan, Zhipan Zhang, Pavel Sedach, Man K. J. Siu, Simon Trudel, Curtis P. Berlinguette “Photochemical route for accessing amorphous metal oxide materials for water oxidation catalysis”
 Science, 2013, 340, 60-63.