I did my doctoral thesis at Paul Scherrer Institut in Villigen/Switzerland from 1996 to 1999 and graduated as Dr.sc.nat. from ETH Zürich in the same year (Doctor of Science). 

My thesis research was funded as a project (Lok 2000) in the Swiss Priority Program on Materials Research, jointly with ABB and Leclanche S.A., two industrial partners. This project was about the development of an electrochemical double layer capacitor to be used in locomotive trains. I researched for three years on the thermal gas phase oxidation of glassy carbon (activation of GC) as electrode material for such capacitors, which are frequently referred to as supercapacitors, supercaps or ultracapacitors.

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and small angle x-ray and neutron scattering (SAXS, SANS) were the two experimental methods that contributed most to my research results. The activation of GC involves at least two competiting processes which I could account for in the framework of a predator-prey model, for which I found an exact analytical mathematical model. To the best of my knowledge, back then we built the supercapacitor with the highest power density ever reported (see ref. 2) below, Journal of New Materials For Electrochemical Systems. 2, 273-277 (1999)).

Publications related to my doctoral thesis at ETH Zürich:

15) A. Braun, J. Ilavsky, S. Seifert, Highly porous activated glassy carbon film sandwich structure for electrochemical energy storage in ultracapacitor applications: Study of the porous film structure and gradient, J. Mater. Res. (2010) 25(8) 1532-1540.

14) A. Braun, Two-process model for the atmospheric weathering, oxidation and ageing of diesel soot, Geophysical Research Letters 2009, 36, L07810.

13) S. Homma, Y. Uoi, A. Braun, J. Koga, S. Matsumoto. Reaction model for fluorination of uranium dioxide using improved unreacted shrinking core model for expanding spherical particles. Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology 2008, 45 (8) 823-837.

12) A. Braun, Some comments on "Soot surface area evolution during air oxidation as evaluated by small angle X-ray scattering and CO2 adsorption”. Carbon 2006, 44/7, 1313-1315 (Letter to the Editor)

11) A. Braun. Comment on “Studies on nanoporous glassy carbon as a new electrochemical capacitor material [J. Power Sources 148 (2005) 121-128]. J. Power Sources 160 (2006) 762-763.

10) A. Braun, J Kohlbrecher, M Bärtsch, B Schnyder, R Kötz, O Haas, A Wokaun. Small angle neutron scattering and cyclic voltammetry study on electrochemically oxidized and reduced pyrolytic carbon. Electrochimica Acta 49 (7) 1105-1112 (2004).

9) W. Gille and A Braun. SAXS chord length distribution analysis and porosity estimation of activated and non-activated glassy carbon. Journal of Non-crystalline Solids (2003) 321:89-95.

8) A. Braun, M Bärtsch, O Merlo, B Schaffner, B Schnyder, R Kötz, O Haas, A Wokaun. Exponential Growth of Electrochemical Double Layer Capacitance in Glassy Carbon during Thermal Oxidation. Carbon 41 (4) 759-765 (2003).

7) A. Braun, A. Wokaun, H.-G. Hermanns.  Analytical Solution to a Growth Problem with Two Moving Boundaries.  Applied Mathematical Modelling 27 (1) 47-52 (2003).

6) A. Braun, M. Bärtsch, B. Schnyder, R. Kötz, O. Haas, A. Wokaun.  Evolution of BET internal surface area in glassy carbon powder during thermal oxidation.  Carbon 40 (3) 375-382 (2002).

5) A. Braun, M. Bärtsch, B. Schnyder, R. Kötz.  A Model for the film growth in samples with two moving boundaries - An Application and Extension of the Unreacted-Core Model. Chemical Engineering Science 55 (22), 5245-5254 (2000).

4) A. Braun, M. Bärtsch, B. Schnyder, R. Kötz, O. Haas, H.-G. Haubold, G. Goerigk.  X-ray Scattering and Adsorption Studies of Thermally Oxidized Glassy Carbon.  Journal of Non-crystalline Solids 260 (1-2), 1-14 (1999).

3) A. Braun, M. Bärtsch, F. Geiger, O. Haas, R. Kötz, B. Schnyder, M. Carlen, T. Christen, Ch. Ohler, P. Unternährer, H. Desilvestro, E. Krause.  A Study on Oxidized Glassy Carbon Sheets for Bipolar Supercapacitor Electrodes in:  New Materials for Batteries and Fuel Cells, Proc. of the MRS 1999, Vol. 575, CC7.3. (1999) pp. 369-380. 

2) M. Bärtsch, A. Braun, B. Schnyder, R. Kötz, O. Haas.  Bipolar Glassy Carbon Electrochemical Double-Layer Capacitor: 100,000 Cycles Demonstrated.  Journal of New Materials For Electrochemical Systems. 2, 273-277 (1999).

1) A. Braun, M. Bärtsch, R. Kötz, B. Schnyder, O. Haas.  Thermal Treatment of Glassy Carbon (GC) for Electrochemical Double Layer Capacitor Applications. Chimia, 51 (1997) Nr. 8/9, p. 645 (226)