Skip to Content
College of Science and Engineering
Chemistry & Biochemistry

Dr. Christopher Rhodes

Professor

Dr. Christopher Rhodes

Contact Information

Office:  CHEM 330

Phone:  (512) 245-6721

Fax:  (512) 245-2374

email:  cprhodes@txstate.edu

Educational Background

  • Postdoctoral Research Associate, Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA (2002-2005)
  • Ph.D. Chemistry, University of Oklahoma, Norman,OK (2001)
  • M.S. Chemistry, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK (2000)
  • B.A. Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX (Magna Cum Laude) (1992)

Honors and Awards

  • Presidential Award for Excellence in Scholarly/Creative Activity, Texas State University, 2018

  • Scialog Fellow for Advanced Energy Storage, Research Corporation for Science Advancement, 2017

  • College Achievement Award for Excellence in Scholarly/Creative Activities, College of Science and Engineering, Texas State University, 2017

  • Recipient of the Electrochemical Society Young Professional Travel Grant, Battery Division, 2017

  • Presidential Distinction Award for Excellence in Service, Texas State University, 2016
Areas of Interest
  • Nanomaterials
  • Spectroscopy
  • Electrochemistry
  • Surfaces and interfaces
  • Energy storage and conversion devices

Related Web Sites

Rhodes Research Group Webpage

Research in the Rhodes Group

Research in the Rhodes group is aimed at studying the unique structure and properties of nanomaterials using a variety of materials characterization, electrochemical, and spectroscopic methods. Nanomaterials provide the ability to control surface structure and reactivity, which are amplified in nanoparticles, nanotubes, and nanosheets. Nanomaterials possess atomic and electronic structures which are influenced by their composition, surface structure, internal structure, particle size, interparticle interactions, and adsorbed solution-phase species. Surfaces are significantly amplified for nanomaterials, and the surface structure can markedly differ from that of the bulk structure.  As a result of their unique structures, nanomaterials possess distinct electrochemical, electrical, optical, and catalytic properties. The ability to control the structure and properties of nanomaterials provides a pathway to develop improved materials for electrochemical devices such as batteries, supercapacitors, fuel cells, water electrolyzers, and sensors as well as other applications.

Selected Publications

Niu, S.; McFeron, R.; Godínez-Salomón, F.; Chapman, B.S.; Damin, C.A.; Tracy, J.B.; Augustyn, V.; Rhodes, C.P. Enhanced Electrochemical Lithium-Ion Charge Storage of Iron Oxide Nanosheets, Chemistry of Materials, 2017, 9, 7794–7807. DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.7b02315

 

Perera, S.D.; Archer, R.; Damin, C.A.; Mendoza-Cruz, R.; Rhodes, C.P. Controlling interlayer interactions in vanadium pentoxide-poly(ethylene oxide) nanocomposites for enhanced magnesium-ion charge transport and storage, Journal of Power Sources, 2017, 343, 580-591. DOI:10.1016/j.jpowsour.2017.01.052

 

Godínez-Salomón, F.; Mendoza-Cruz, R; Arellano-Jimenez, M.J., Jose-Yacaman, M.; Rhodes, C.P; Metallic Two-dimensional Nanoframes: Design of Carbon-free Hierarchical Nickel-Platinum Alloy Electrocatalyst Nanoarchitecture with Enhanced Oxygen Reduction Activity and Stability, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2017, 9, 18660-18674. DOI: 10.1021/acsami.7b00043

 

Duraia, E.M.; Niu, S.; Beall, G.W.; Rhodes, C.P., Humic Acid-Derived Graphene-SnO2 Nanocomposites for High Capacity Lithium-Ion Battery Anodes, Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics, 2018, 29, 8456–8464. DOI: 10.1007/s10854-018-8858-x

 

Godínez-Salomón, F.; Rhodes, C.P; Alcantara, K.S.; Zhu, Q.; Canton, S.E.; Calderon, H.A.; Reyes-Rodríguez, J.L.; Leyva, M.A.; Solorza-Feria, O., Tuning the Oxygen Reduction Activity and Stability of Ni(OH)2@Pt/C Catalysts through Controlling Pt Surface Composition, Strain, and Electronic Structure, Electrochimica Acta, 2017, 247, 958-969. DOI: 10.1016/j.electacta.2017.06.073

 

Stein, M.; Chen, C.; Mullings, M.; Jamie, D.J.; Zaleski, A.; Mukherjee, P.; Rhodes, C.P. Probing the Effect of High Energy Ball Milling on the Structure and Properties of LiNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2 Cathodes, Journal of Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage, 2016, 13, 031001. DOI:10.1115/1.4034755