Andrew Herring

Professor, Chemical and Biological Engineering
Vice Provost Strategic Initiatives

Research in the Herring group is generally in the area of Energy with a particular emphasis on Renewable Energy. We work at the interface of materials science and chemical engineering and most of our work is collaborative in nature the majority with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, also in Golden. We currently focus on Electrochemical Engineering.

All of our work is focused on the storage, conversion, or use of renewable electricity. Much of the effort concerns the discovery, synthesis, characterization and study of polymer electrolyte membranes. We are interested in both proton exchange membranes, particularly those incorporating inorganic super acids, and anion, and advanced anion exchange membranes with stable cations. Fundamental polymer physics is used to understand and optimize the materials. The same polymers are also used as the basis of our studies of ionomers for the fabrication of high performance electrodes.

Single cell device level studies concern, both fuel cells, electrolyzers, and redox flow batteries where performance and durability are maximized. Our interests also include carbon dioxide reduction and nitrogen electrochemistry. Another area of research is in electrochemical applications in water purification and use. Membranes are designed for both desalination using electrodialysis and blue energy. We use wastewater as a course of a slow release fertilizer, struvite, and hydrogen production.

Research Group

• ChulOong (Christoph) Kim, Case Western Reserve University
• Mei-Chen Kuo
• Lipin (Ivy) Wu, Iowa State University

Education

• BS, PhD – Chemistry, University of Leeds, UK
• Post-Doctoral Study – California Institute of Technology

Selected Publications

• “Enhancing desalination performance by manipulating block ratios in a polyethylene-based triblock copolymer anion exchange membrane for electrodialysis.” I. Wu, R.J. Park, R. Ghosh, M.-C. Kuo, S. Seifert, E.B. Coughlin, A.M. Herring,* Journal of Membrane Science, 647, 12029 (2022).
• “A polyethylene-based triblock copolymer anion exchange membrane with high conductivity and practical mechanical properties.” N.C. Buggy, Y. Du, M.-C. Kuo, K.A. Ahrens, J.S. Wilkinson, S. Seifert, …, A.M. Herring,* ACS Applied Polymer Materials 2 (3), 1294-1303 (2020).
• “Simultaneous electrochemical nutrient recovery and hydrogen generation from model wastewater using a sacrificial magnesium anode.” I. Wu, A. Teymouri, R. Park, L.F. Greenlee, A.M. Herring,* Journal of The Electrochemical Society 166 (16), E576 (2019).
• “Transport and morphology of a proton exchange membrane based on a doubly functionalized perfluorosulfonic imide side chain perflourinated polymer.” A. Kusoglu, K. Vezzù, G.A. Hegde, G. Nawn, A.R. Motz, H.N. Sarode, …, A.M. Herring,* Chemistry of Materials 32 (1), 38-59 (2019).
• “Heteropoly acid functionalized fluoroelastomer with outstanding chemical durability and performance for vehicular fuel cells.” A.R. Motz, M.-C. Kuo, J.L. Horan, R. Yadav, S. Seifert, T.P. Pandey, S. Galioto, …, A.M. Herring,* Energy & Environmental Science 11 (6), 1499-1509 (2018).

Google Scholar Citations Page

Honors and Awards

• 2020 Electrochemical Society Fellow
• 2018 ACS Storch Award
• 2016 American Chemical Society Fellow
• 2011, 2018 Colorado School of Mines, Excellence in Research Award
• 2007, 2008, 2009 3M Untenured Faculty Award
• 2006 ACS Fuel Division Glenn Award

More Information

• Colorado Fuel Cell Center
• NEXUS