个人简介

Dr. Birss was a Commonwealth Scholar who obtained her Ph.D., on the topic of anodic films on silver electrodes, from the University of Auckland under the supervision of Dr. G. A. Wright.She then took on a PDF position with Dr. B.E. Conwayat the University of Ottawa to work on the supercapacitive properties of hydrous metal oxides, particularly Ru oxide, a project funded by Continental Group Inc. (CGI).Dr. Birss was then hired by CGI as a Research Scientist to continue this work, most of which has been patented, and which subsequently spawned the current great interest in supercapacitive devices. Following this, she was employed as a research scientist with Alcan International Ltd. In Kingston, Ontario, and her work there focussed on electrochemical and corrosion studies of a range of high strength aluminum alloys.After one year at Alcan, Dr. Birss joined the Chemistry Department at the University of Calgary as an Assistant Professor, where she was promoted to Associate Professor in 1987 and to Full Professor in 1991. Since joining the University of Calgary, Dr. Birss' principal area of research has focussed primarily on furthering the understanding of the growth mechanism, nanostructure, and the optimization of the electrochemical properties of a wide range of surface film materials.Other significant contributions have included pioneering studies of redox-active metal oxides formed using the sol-gel process, studies of adsorbed flavins, investigations of the metal/polymer interface and protection of Al and Mg alloys from corrosion through the growth of anodic oxide films.More recent work has had a strong focus on electrocatalysis as applied to various fuel cell systems. In the low temperature fuel cell area, this includes the use of sol-gel processing for the formation of metallic nanoparticulate thin films for the oxidation of hydrogen and methanol, the development of non-noble metal electrocatalysts for the reduction of and establishing the role of Ru oxide in Pt-Ru anode electrocatalysts for methanol oxidation in direct methanol PEM fuel cells.In terms of solid oxide fuel cell work (SOFC), research goals include the establishment of the kinetics and mechanisms of fuel oxidation and oxygen reduction reactions using 3-electrode electrochemical methods, and on understanding and overcoming SOFC degradation mechanisms, including sulfur poisoning of anodes, thermal cycling effects on the anode, and Cr contamination of cathodes.Other work involves the use of in situ FTIR spectroscopy to probe fuel oxidation mechanisms to identify new anode materials for the direct oxidation of hydrocarbons in SOFCs, the formation of novel electrocatalysts for SOFC applications using sol-gel methodologies, and the performance enhancement of microtubular SOFCs. Since her arrival at the University of Calgary, Dr. Birss has published over 110 research papers, as well as ~40 research reports for industrial sponsors.She has been very well-funded by NSERC (both Strategic and Research Grants), the Province of Alberta, CANMET, Alcan International Ltd., Honeywell Inc. (formerly AlliedSignal Inc.), Occidental, and more recently, by AERI, NSERC/NRC Fuel Cell Project Funding, Ballard Power Systems, and Versa Power (formerly Global Thermoelectric Inc.). Dr. Birss' outstanding research achievements have also been recognized by the W. Lash Miller Award in Electrochemistry in 1985, the inaugural C. Benson Award of the CSC in 1991, the YWCA Award of Distinction in Science in 1994, the Faculty of Science (U. of Calgary) Award for Research Excellence in 1995, and the CIC Lecture Award, presented at the University of Sherbrooke in 1998, and a Killam Resident Fellowship in 2003.Dr. Birss has recently been awarded the NATO and a Canada Research Chair (Tier I) in Materials for Fuel Cells and Related Energy Systems.Over the last year, Dr. Birss' research group has comprised of 17 individuals (9 graduate students, 4 undergraduates, 3 PDFs and one Visiting Professor).She is recognized for her commitment to the supervision and mentoring of students, having recently been nominated for a University-wide award for excellence in research supervision. With respect to professional contributions, Dr. Birss has been an invited speaker at many national and international meetings and has been the organizer of many scientific symposia and meetings.In addition, she has served as an Editor for the Canadian Journal of Chemistry from 1993 to 2001, as well as for several special journal issues and proceedings volumes in the field of electrochemistry. She was a member, and then Chair, of the NSERC Grant Selection Committee (Physical and Analytical Chemistry) from 1989 to 1992.She was also a member of the Strategic Grant (Energy and Mineral Resources) Selection Panel from 1994 to 1997 and a member of the prestigious Killam Fellowship and Prize Selection Committee (2000-2003).Dr. Birss has been a member of many professional organizations, and their executive committees, and is currently the Chair of the Physical Electrochemistry Division of the Electrochemical Society Inc.Dr. Birss has also served on high-level committees at the University level, including the executive committee of the Faculty of Science, the Faculty of Science Visioning Committee and the University Facilities and Planning Committee.Dr. Birss is also a member of ACS, Sigma Xi (President of Calgary Chapter, 2000-2001) and the International Society of Electrochemistry.She is also an active member of WISE (Women in Science and Engineering), having served in the capacity of mentor and group leader of the Chemistry WISE Connections Group since 1989. Dr. Birss is also one of the founders and now co-chair of the Western Canada Fuel Cell Initiative, a group of researchers from the Universities of Calgary, Alberta, BC, Victoria, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, as well as the Alberta Research Council, as of November of 2002.

研究领域

Physical Chemistry

One of the main goals of our research is to produce useful thin film materials which can serve as electrocatalysts in fuel cells, to protect metals from corrosion, to serve as a matrix for enzymes for biosensor applications, and to create useful nanoarchitectures. Some examples of the research currently underway in our group are given below. 1) Fuel Cell Electrochemistry One of the most active areas of current research is related to the development on new catalysts for fuel cell applications, as well as to further the understanding of factors which lead to the degradation of fuel cell performance. Fuel cells are energy conversion devices which are efficient, quiet, and environmentally friendly. In one branch of this research, which is supported by NSERC and, in part, the Electrometallurgy Consortium, we are working on novel methods to form thin films composed of nanometer sized metallic, or metal oxide particles, using a derivative of the sol-gel technique (Harry Tsaprailis, Kerry Holmes, Jeff Soderberg). These are then tested for their ability to serve as an electrocatalyst for hydrogen, methanol or ethanol oxidation, or oxygen reduction, in low temperature PEM fuel cells. In another project, recently supported by Ballard Power Systems, we are developing new low cost cathode materials for the reduction of oxygen (Ana Mani, and before her, Dr. Aislinn Sirk), and a patent on our newly developed materials has recently been filed. Our work on solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), funded primarily by NSERC, has focused on developing reliable methods to determine the kinetics and mechanisms of fuel oxidation and oxygen reduction (particularly Anne Co, now a post-doctoral fellow at NRC, and Pete Keech), as well as on establishing the important effect of electrode porosity (Anne Co, Jeff Soderberg) on fuel cell performance. As well, we have been successful in the synthesis of nanometer-sized electrocatalytic particles for SOFC applications, with these materials showing great promise in terms of enhanced performance (Joseph Fournier, Pete Keech, Sherman Kung, Trinh Nguyen, Danielle Trifan). Some of our more recent efforts have also been on increasing SOFC performance and resistance to poisoning through the use of mixed ion-electron conducting anodes and cathodes (Joseph Fournier, Dr. Louise Liu, now at West Virginia University Institute of Technology). In another major SOFC project, in collaboration with Versa Power and McMaster University (Dr. A. Petric), we are focusing on understanding and overcoming the degradation of performance of high temperature SOFCs (Pete Keech, Dr. Scott Paulson, Jason Young). The specific types of problems that are being addressed include the effect on anodes of sulfur in the fuel and of exposure to air when the anode is still hot, the impact of Cr from the interconnects on cathode behavior, and the deleterious effect of thermal cycling. Another recent project (Jeff Soderberg, Dr. Li Sun) is directed towards further improving the performance of microtubular SOFCs, in collaboration with the Alberta Research Council (Dr. Partho Sarkar), Prof. Josephine Hill (Dept. of Chemical & Petroleum Engineering) and her Ph.D. student, Max Cementi, and Advanced Measurements Inc. Both the anodes and cathodes are currently being evaluated and optimized, with the longer term goals of this project being to enable operation with liquid fuels such as alcohols. Another project funded by Albert Energy Research Institute (AERI) and Western Economic Development (WED), involves the development of nanomaterials for high performance anodes (Sherman Kung), and mitigating sulfur (Dr. Shen Xia) and coke (Joseph Fournier) poisoning of SOFC anode. 2) Development of Oxide Films for Corrosion Protection In another major branch of our work, funded by Honeywell Inc., the primary research goal is to electrochemically produce a thick, protective oxide film on the surface of specialized light weight Al and Mg alloys, to be used in Aerospace applications. In the case of the Al alloys under study (Eric McLeod, and previously Dr. Rudolf Potucek), they contain a relatively high percentage of Cu (up to 6%). Therefore, most solutions and approaches normally employed to anodize Al will result in the dissolution of Cu, thus leaving the surface in a porous and weakened condition. The goals of our work are to identify a solution and voltage/current program which will result in the formation of a uniform, thick and adherent film over the entire alloy surface, resistant to penetration by water of chloride ions. In the case of the corrosion protection of Mg alloys (Dr. Shen Xia), we have recently patented a novel waveform for oxide deposition and are also working on the use of various sol-gel and polymer coatings to further increase the corrosion resistance of these oxide-coated alloys. 3) Biosensor Development The researchers in this area (Amit Jhas, and previously Dr. Erfan Abu-Irhayem), funded by NSERC and involving collaboration with Prof. Hanna Elzanowska (Univ. of Warsaw) and Dr. Graham Julien's group in the Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering, are aiming at developing a stable glucose biosensor for the treatment of diabetes. This is being accomplished by embedding an enzyme, glucose oxidase, into a porous, conducting matrix of nanoparticulate Ir metal or Ir oxide (IrOx) thin films. In the presence of oxygen, the enzyme reacts with glucose, forming hydrogen peroxide, which is sensed as current at the IrOx electrodes. Without oxygen, IrOx reacts directly with the enzyme, delivering current, and regenerating it active flavin site after each reaction with glucose. Ir-based electrodes have been chosen because they are stable to dissolution, are conducting, and most importantly, they are tolerated well by the body. Our present work is focused on the optimization and fabrication of a continuous-glucose biosensor, for use as a novel in vivo artificial glucose homeostatic control system. Future work will be directed towards other redox-active enzymes, benefiting from the advantageous properties of IrOx thin films. 4) Electrodeposition of Metals A recent project, funded by Honeywell Inc., is focused of the electrodeposition of metal coatings on other metallic surfaces to enhance their wear protection. This work is being carried out by Dr. Shen Xia, and present efforts are focusing on Ni and Re electrodeposition of a range of metal and metal oxide nanoparticles (Harry Tsaprailis) for fuel cell applications.

近期论文

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New insights into the early stages of thermal oxidation of carbon/carbon composites using electrochemical methodsCuijuan Zhang, Min Chen, Scott C. Paulson, Richard G. Rateick Jr., Viola I. BirssCarbon, Volume 108, Pages 178–189 Highly active nanoscale Ni-Yttria Stabilized Zirconia Anodes for Micro-Solid Oxide Fuel Cell ApplicationsAligul Buyukaksoy and Viola Birss J. Power Sources, Ms. No.: POWER-D-15-04096R1, Volume 307, Pages 449–453 Evaluation of MIEC Ce0.8Y0.1Mn0.1O2-8 Anode in Electrolyte-Supported SOFC.Handal, H., Addo, P., Buyukaksoy, A. Birss, V. I., & Thangadurai, V.J. of The Electrochemical Society. Volume 163, Issue 11, F3091-F3098 An Electrochemical Lipopolysaccharide Sensor Based on an Immobilized Toll-Like Receptor-4RM Mayall, M Renaud-Young, NWC Chan, VI BirssBiosensors & Bioelectronics, 10.1016/j.bios.2016.09.009 (in press) PtxIry Alloy Nanoparticles with Fully Tunable Bulk and Surface CompositionsE.N. El Sawy, H.T. Handal, V. Thangadurai, V.I. BirssJournal of Materials Chemistry A, (in press) Comparison of the Electrochemistry of Ni Thin Film and Ni-YSZ Composite Anodes Fabricated by Polymeric Precursor DepositionAligul Buyukaksoy, Viola BirssJ. Electrochem. Soc. (in press) Wettability of colloid-imprinted carbons by contact angle kinetics and water vapor sorption measurementsXiaoan Li, Dustin Banham, Fangxia Feng, Farisa Forouzandeh, Siyu Ye, Daniel Y. Kwok, Viola BirssCarbon, Volume 87, Pages 44–60 Surface and bulk study of strontium-rich chromium ferrite oxide as a robust solid oxide fuel cell cathodeMin Chen, Scott Paulson, Wang Hay Kan, Venkataraman Thangaduraia and Viola BirssJ. Material Chemistry, Volume 3, Issue 45, Pages 22614-22626 Clarifying the role of Ru in methanol oxidation at Rucore@Ptshell nanoparticlesEhab N. El Sawy, Hany A. El-Sayed and Viola I. BirssPhysical Chemistry Chemical Physics Volume 17, Issue 41, Pages 27509-27519 Novel Mesoporous Carbon Supports for PEMFC CatalystsDustin Banham, Fangxia Feng, Tobias Fürstenhaupt, Katie Pei, Siyu Ye and Viola BirssCatalysts, Volume 5, Issue 3, Pages 1046-1067 Microwave-assisted synthesis and characterization of new cathodic material for solid oxide fuel cells: La0.3Ca0.7Fe0.7Cr0.3O3−δBeatriz Molero-Sánchez, Jesús Prado-Gonjal, David Ávila-Brande, Viola Birss, Emilio MoránCeramics International, Volume 41, Issue 7, Pages 8411–8416 Effect of porous YSZ scaffold microstructure on the long-term performance of infiltrated Ni-YSZ anodesAligul Buyukaksoy, Sanoop P. Kammampata, Viola I. BirssJ. Power Sources, Volume 287, Pages 349–358 Conductivity Switching of N-Doped Ta Oxide Nanotubular ArraysAnusha D. Abhayawardhana and Viola I. BirssJ. Phys. Chem, Volume 119, Issue 24, Pages 13847-13857 A method for the formation of Pt metal nanoparticle arrays using nanosecond pulsed laser dewettingEbenezer Owusu-Ansah, Corie A. Horwood, Hany A. El-Sayed, Viola I. Birss and Yujun J. ShiApplied Physics Letters, Volume 106, Issue 20 First-time electrical characterization of nanotubular ZrO2 films for micro-solid oxide fuel cell applicationsAligul Buyukaksoy, Tobias Fürstenhaupt and Viola I. BirssNanoscale, Volume 7, Issue 18, Pages 8428-8437 Gold nanoparticle array formation on dimpled Ta templates using pulsed laser-induced thin film dewettingHany A. El-Sayed, Corie A. Horwood, Ebenezer Owusu-Ansah, Yujun J. Shi and Viola I. BirssPhysical Chemistry Chemical Physics, Volume 17, Issue 16, Pages 11062-11069 High performance La0.3Ca0.7Cr0.3Fe0.7O3−δ air electrode for reversible solid oxide fuel cell applicationsBeatriz Molero-Sánchez, Jesús Prado-Gonjal, David Ávila-Brande, Min Chen, Emilio Morán, Viola BirssInternational Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Volume 40, Issue 4, Pages 1902–1910 Evaluation of corrosion resistance of ordered mesoporous carbons for use as a fuel cell cathode supportFarisa Farouzendeh, X. Li, Dustin Banham, F. Feng, Siyu Ye, and Viola BirssJ. Electrochem. Soc. Article ID: 0381512JES Fuel side CO/CO2 studies of high performance La0.3Sr0.7Fe0.7Cr0.3O3–δ RSOFC electrodesPaul Addo, Beatriz Molero-Sanchez, Min Chen, Scott Paulson and Viola BirssFuel Cells 15 (6), 689–696. The effect of pre-oxidation treatments on the oxidation tolerance of Ni-YSZ anodes in SOFCsJ. Young, H. Molero, and V. BirssJ. Power Sources 271, 538-547.