ELCOR Laboratories were founded in october 2000 in the frame of the CNCSIS (National Council of the Universitary Scientific Research) grant financed by World Bank, entitled: "ELCOR Programme for promoting of applied interdisciplinary research in electrochemistry and corrosion by doctoral studies".

Location: "Polizu" site of University POLITEHNICA Bucharest, buildings E, F and L. Mail address: Calea Grivitei 132, 78122-Bucharest, Romania.

Contact person: prof. Teodor Visan, director of ELCOR grant, tel.(+4)021 2129952 /extension 3855, 3977; (+4) 0722371083, fax: (+4)021 3154193; e-mail: t_visan@chim.upb.ro

Laboratories and members:

1. Electrochemical Studies and Corrosion Group (prof.dr.eng. Teodora Badea, prof.dr.eng. Maria Nicola, 2 assist.prof.);
2. Organic Electrochemistry Group (prof.dr.eng. Eleonora Mihaela Ungureanu, 1 eng.);
3. Electrochemical Characterisation of Material in Specific Media, including Bioliquids Group (prof.dr. Ioana Demetrescu, head of General Chemistry Dept., dr. Belarisa Popescu, 3 assist.prof., 1 Ph.D.student);
4. Electrochemical Methods used in Electrochemistry and Corrosion Group (prof.dr.eng. Teodor Visan, head of Appl.Phys.Chem.& Electrochem. Dept., 2 lecturers, 2 Ph.D.students);
5. Electrode Processes in Electrochemistry and Corrosion with Various Applications Group (prof.dr. Ioan Viorel Branzoi, 1 assist.prof., 2 Ph.D.students);
6. "ELMIN" (Electrochemical Miniaturisation) Research Group (Dr. Danut Ionel Vaireanu, 3 graduated students).

A series of Ph.D. students (part time), students at master program in Electrochemistry and Corrosion (about 7-8 every academic year) and graduated students (4-5) are involved in activities of ELCOR Lab. Until now, 12 Ph.D. students have defended their theses under the supervisors: prof. T.Visan (11) and prof. I.V.Branzoi (1).

Six ELCOR members are active members of Int.Soc. of Electrochemistry (ISE); there are also members of The Electrochemical Society, USA (2), The Royal Society - Analytical and Electrochem. Div., UK (1), European Comission of Corrosion (1), Romanian Chem. Soc. (12) and Romanian Soc. of Chemical Engineers (8).

Experimental facilities:

Electrochemical equipment: 3 PAR Model 173 (USA) potentiostats, a Sycopel Scientific potentiostat (UK), all connected at PC's; RDE electrode (Bioanalytical Syst.,USA); device for Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (TFA 2000 type, Sycopel Scientific, UK); pH-meter and conductivity-meter (Model 220, Denver Instrument, SUA); automatic titrimeter (Metrohm E 436), Wayne-Kerr impedance bridge; dry box (home made). Determinations: polarization curves in potentiostatic / galvanostatic and potentiodynamic conditions, cyclic voltammetry and EIS (Nyquist and Bode) experiments, preparative electrolyses, electrodeposition and corrosion studies, conducting polymers, batteries, electrochemical sensors.

Research interest of Groups:

Recent results and activities:

"ELCOR" Laboratories have been involved as main organizer of the 2^nd International Symposium "Electrochemistry - a Frontier Field of Theoretical and Practical Interest, ELFI-2", held in University "Politehnica" Bucharest, September 13-15, 2001, where the ELCOR members have presented 17 lectures, oral communications and posters (140-total number of papers).Many scientific papers are currently published in recognized Romanian Journals, such as: Revue Roumaine de Chimie, Roum.Chem.Quarterly Revue, Rev.Chim., UPB Scientific Bulletin, other university and scientific journals. More than 20 research grants and contracts (especially under the frame of national research programmes) have contributed to the financial coverage of ELCOR research groups, during the last two years.

Participation at the international scientific life is illustrated as following:

• - in the field of anodic oxidation of carboxylic acids and derivatives, calixarenes, reduction processes of azomethyn compounds, molecular recognition in solution and on modified electrodes using polypyrrole-ferrocene derivatized films - papers published in Electrochim.Acta (1997,2001), J.Electroanalyt.Chem., (1996,1999), Advanced Materials (1997), Sensors & Actuators (1999), vol. "New Directions in Org.Electrochem.", ed.A.J.Fry, Pennington, N.J.,2000, presented at 197^th Meeting of Electroch.Soc, Toronto (2000), 199^th Meeting of Electrochem.Soc, Washington (2001), Int.Conf.of Chem.Societies from South-East Europ.Countries, Halkidiki (2000), Journec d'Electrochimie, Toulouse (1999), reported results in the frame of a francofon contract Aupelf-Uref;
• - subjects about the selection of new biomaterials according to their electrochemical stability (aspect of biocompatibility) on the basis of the polarization curves, open-circuit potentials and impedance spectra using electrodes immersed in various bioliquids - presented at EMCR Conference, Budapest (May 2000), the 51^th ISE Meeting, Warsaw (2000), "Titanium in Dentistry" Symposium, Tokyo (2001), etc.;
• - refering to the results of studies concerning: kinetics of electrode processes with applications in corrosion, anodic dissolution and oxidation, corrosion protection using protective phosphating layers and organic coatings, electrodeposition of semiconductor thermoelectric compounds - can be mentioned the papers published in journals such as: Metal Finishing-New York (1998), Materials & Corrosion (2000), Materials Chemistry and Physics (2000), J.Solid State Electrochem. (2001), or presented as communications at: "Surface'97", Palanga, Lituania (1997), VI-th Corros.Symp., Izmir (1998), MSDG-RSC Annual Conf. in Chem., Edinborough (1999), "Corros.and environmental protection", Budapest (1999), "14^th Int.Corros.Congress, Capetown (1999), Giornate dell'Electrochimica Italiana, Como (1999), ECASIA'99, evilla (1999), EMCR, Budapest (2000), 50-th ISE Meeting, Pavia (1999), 51^th ISE Meeting, Warsaw (2000), "Eurocorr", Utrecht (1998), "Eurocorr", Heidelberg (1999), "Eurocorr", London (2000), "Eurocorr", Riva del
Garda, Italy (2001), XX Int.Conf.on Thermoelectrics, Beijing (2001).

Some examples of recent papers and books:

1. J.-C.Moutet, E.Saint-Aman, E.M.Ungureanu et al, Heterodinucleating macrocyclic compounds designed for electrochemical recognition, Electrochimica Acta, 46, 2733-2740, 2001;
2. N.Ibris, J.-C.Mirza-Rosca, A.Santana, T.Visan, Comparative EIS study of a paste electrode containing zinc powder in neutral and near neutral solutions, Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry, 6, 219-225, 2002;
3. V.Branzoi, F.Branzoi, F.Golgovici, The influence of different aggressive anions on the electrochemical behaviour of aluminium in NaNO₃ aqueous solutions, Materials and Corrosion, 51,635-641,2000;
4. J.-C.Mirza Rosca, N.Ibris, M.Valles, A.Santana Lopez, T.Visan, Corrosion atmosferica, Serv.de Reprografia y Encuadernacion, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria University, Spain, 2000;
5. I.Demetrescu, B.Popescu, General Chemistry (in romanian), Bren Publ.House, Bucharest, 2000.

Scientific collaborations:

• national level: University of Bucharest, University "Babes-Bolyai" of Cluj-Napoca, Univ."Ovidius" Constanta, Univ. of Oradea, Inst.Phys.Chem."I.G. Murgulescu" of Romanian Academy, Research and Development Institute for Electrical Engineering-Advanced Research (ICPE-CA) Bucharest, National Institute for Research and Development for Materials Physics Magurele, Bucharest, Metallurgical Research Institute-ICEM, Microtechnologies Institute, "Colentina" Clinic Hospital, "Acumulatorul" Bucharest;
• international level: Univ."Las Palmas de Gran Canaria", Politecnico di Torino, Inst.Nat.Polyt. Grenoble, Univ."Joseph Fourier" Grenoble, Aarhus Univ., Denmark, Sherbrooke Univ.,Canada, Hokkaido Univ., Sapporo, Marvel Thermoelectrics, France, The Trymer Company, Leander, Texas, USA.