Oral Presentation Royal Australian Chemical Institute National Congress 2026

Quantitative control over Lorentz effects in magneto-electrochemistry (136881)

Haihui Joy Jiang 1 2 , Lais C. Brazaca 2 3 , Thomas C. Underwood 2 4 , Ekaterina V. Skorb 2 5 , Mohamed K. Abd El-Rahman 2 6 , Craig A. Mascarenhas 2 7 , William T. McLeod 8 , Gigi Ni 2 , Brian Medrano 2 , Lukas Emge 2 , Lee Belding 2 , Albert S. Y. Wong 2 , David M. Wilmouth 2 7 , Dimitar D. Sasselov 1 , James G. Anderson 2 7 , Jeffrey G. Bell 2 8 , George M. Whitesides 2
  1. Department of Astronomy, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States
  2. Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States
  3. São Carlos Institute of Chemistry, University of São Paulo, São Carlos, SP, Brazil
  4. Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Austin, TX, United States
  5. ITMO University, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation
  6. Department of Analytical Chemistry, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
  7. Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States
  8. Department of Chemistry, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, United States

Overcoming mass transport limitations is a central challenge that constrains the efficiency of diverse electrochemical technologies, from industrial electrosynthesis to energy storage. Here, we establish a design framework for the quantitative, predictive control of solution-phase fluid dynamics using Lorentz forces, transforming this phenomenon from a physical curiosity into a robust chemical engineering tool. Using the electrochemical oxidation of iodide as a tracer-free model system, we directly visualize and deconstruct the parameters governing magneto-hydrodynamic convection. We provide quantitative correlations linking key chemical (reactant concentration, electrolyte viscosity) and physical (applied potential, magnetic field strength) parameters to the resulting fluidic motion.1 This analysis reveals a fundamental insight: both the electric and magnetic components of the Lorentz force create observable, controllable transport effects extending millimeters from the electrode surface. This work provides a non-mechanical strategy to rationally engineer fluid dynamics in electrochemical reactors, opening a clear pathway to predictably enhance rates in diffusion-limited electrocatalysis and homogenize interfacial processes in batteries.

 

1 Jiang, H. J.; Abd El-Rahman, M-K.; Brazaca, L. C.; Underwood, T. C.; Sakamoto, J.; Bell, J. G.; Whitesides, G. M.*; “Methods and Systems for Generating Liquid Motion” (PCT/US23/74287)