Dr. Arsène Chemin

36th International Conference on Diamond and Carbon Materials

30 August – 3 September 2026 | Donostia - San Sebastián, Spain

I am honored to be the ICDCM 2026 Early Career Research Awardee and happy to give a plenary talk on The forgotten defect: How diamond interfaces govern performance across modern device classes.

Find the Abstract here

Rethinking Electrochemical Interfaces: The role of the Helmholtz potential on electrocatalytic activity

Chemin, A., Godeffroy, L., Amans, D. et al. The role of the Helmholtz potential on electrocatalytic activity. Nat Commun (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-70980-5  

Hydrogen is at the heart of the transition to carbon neutrality, serving as both an energy carrier and a reactant for green chemistry, and even a pathway to convert CO₂ into fuel. However, the large-scale production via electrolysis requires catalysts that are much more economical and efficient than those currently available. Just like many of the world’s most critical energy technologies, such as next-generation batteries, hydrogen production depends on a single, invisible boundary: the place where a solid electrode meets a liquid. While this interface is the heart of the energy transition, it has remained notoriously difficult to describe, limiting our ability to design truly efficient and affordable materials.

In the study "The role of the Helmholtz potential on electrocatalytic activity" published in Nature Communications, we have introduced a new theoretical framework connecting charge behaviour in solids and liquids, and demonstrate its implications for the production of hydrogen from water. It aims to lay the groundwork for a new physical understanding of electrochemistry — one that any lab or industry can build on to accelerate their own breakthroughs in green technology.