When
Monday, February 2, 2026, 10:00 a.m.
Sergi Garcia-Segura
Assistant Professor, School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment,
Arizona State University
"Engineering Interfacial Design in Electrocatalysis: Toward Selective and Sustainable Water Treatment"
Harshbarger 118A-A1
ABSTRACT: Water scarcity and quality degradation remain defining environmental challenges of the 21st century. As freshwater resources become increasingly stressed, emerging contaminants are becoming a recurrent water pollution issue. Pesticides, pharmaceuticals, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and excess nutrients continue to accumulate in natural and engineered systems that demand for resilient, energy-efficient, and selective water treatment technologies as a need that has never been more urgent. Achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of universal access to clean water and sanitation will require transformative approaches. In this scenario, electrified water treatment technologies emerge as one of the advanced technologies for decentralized water treatment.
Electrochemically-driven treatment processes have recently gained momentum as modular electrified technologies capable of addressing diverse contaminants with minimal chemical inputs. The versatility of electrochemical water treatment technologies arises from the tunability of interfacial reactions – where catalyst composition, surface structure, local redox environment, and mass-transport phenomena jointly define activity and selectivity of water treatment pathways. In this presentation, we will explore how interfacial design in electrocatalysis can be leveraged to push the boundaries of selective pollutant removal, with emphasis on nitrate reduction and electrochemical processes in gas-starving systems as model reactions.
We will discuss emerging strategies for engineering earth-abundant electrocatalysts with tailored electrocatalytic properties that promote desirable reduction pathways. Particular attention will be given to designing electrocatalytic processes representative of gas-starving systems. Recent advances in the integration of nanobubble-enhanced processes will also be discussed, highlighting the impacts of effective gas delivery that can unlock unique reaction regimes while improving Faradaic efficiency and yield in extremely challenging conditions. Real-world case examples will be presented to underscore opportunities and remaining challenges in up-scaling and down-scaling electrified treatment systems to advance technology readiness levels for successful translation and market implementation.
Through this seminar, we will gain an understanding of the critical scientific questions and engineering challenges driving the next generation of electrocatalytic water treatment on a fit-for-purpose basis. How can we design interfacial environments that steer selectivity? What roles do local pH, hydrogenation, gas supersaturation, and other driving variables may play in reactivity? How can nanostructured catalysts be tuned to accelerate key reaction steps? How enhanced nanobubble gas delivery may become a paradigm shift in gas-starved electrochemical processes? And how can these insights translate into robust, field-deployable water treatment technologies? Join us to explore how engineered interfacial environments can power electrochemical systems to become more selective, scalable, and sustainable, paving the way toward universal access to clean water for future generations.
BIOSKETCH: Sergi Garcia-Segura is an assistant professor in the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment at Arizona State University. He holds a PhD in chemistry from the University of Barcelona (UB), an MSc in electrochemistry from the University of Alicante, and dual BSc degrees in chemistry and materials science engineering from UB and the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, respectively. Garcia-Segura brings an international and multidisciplinary background, having conducted research across four continents in physical and analytical chemistry, materials science and environmental engineering. His work focuses on advancing sustainable solutions at the water-energy nexus through both fundamental and applied science. His research group develops energy-efficient, off-grid technologies that harness nano-interfaces for environmental remediation, with emphasis on electrocatalysis and nanobubble systems. He has authored over 190 peer-reviewed publications (h-index = 61). He has received numerous international awards, including (i) the 2014 Environmental Electrochemistry Prize received from the International Society of Electrochemistry, (ii) the 2015 Green Talent Award from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, , (iii) 2020 Elsevier- International Society of Electrochemistry Prize for Applied Electrochemistry and the (iv) Young Researcher award “Group Leader” 2024 from the Spanish Royal Society of Chemistry, among others. Garcia-Segura currently leads a dynamic research group of over 20 early-career scientists and serves as Associate Editor for Chemosphere, Applied Catalysis B: Environment and Energy and Applied Catalysis O: Open.