Professor John Varcoe CSci Chem FRSC

See Google Scholar Profile for a full list of publications and citations

ORCID ID: 0000-0001-9898-0235

All of the below where Surrey is lead affiliation are CC-BY Open Access

INVITED REVIEW: J. R. Varcoe, P. Atanassov, D. R. Dekel, A. M. Herring, M. A. Hickner, P. A. Kohl, A. R. Kucernak, W. E. Mustain, K. Nijmeijer, K. Scott, T. Xu, L. Zhuang,
"Anion-exchange membranes in electrochemical energy systems",
Energy Environ. Sci., 7, 3135 (2014).

Q. Xu, B. Ó. Joensen, N. C. Kani, A. Sartori, T. Willson, J. R. Varcoe, L. Riillo, A. Ramunni, J. Drnec, I. Chorkendorff, B. Seger,
"Electrolyte Effects in Membrane-Electrode-Assembly CO Electrolysis",
Angew. Chem. Intl. Ed., 64, e202501505 (2025).

B. Ó. Joensen, Q. Xu, K. Enemark-Rasmussen, V. Frankland, A. P. Periasamy, J. R. Varcoe, I. Chorkendorff, B. Seger,
"Advancing the Synthesis for Perdeuterated Small Organic Chemicals via Electrochemical CO2 Reduction",
ACS Catal., 15, 1038 (2025).

A. Salvian, D. Farkas, M. Ramirez-Moreno, D. Torruella-Salas, A. Berná, C. Avignone-Rossa, J. R. Varcoe, A. Esteve-Núñez, S. Gadkari,
"Resilience of anodic biofilm in microbial fuel cell biosensor for BOD monitoring of urban wastewater",
npj Clean Water, 7, 53 (2024).

E. J. Park, P. Jannasch, K. Miyatake, C. Bae, K. Noonan, C. Fujimoto, S. Holdcroft, J. R. Varcoe, D. Henkensmeier, M. D. Guiver, Y. S. Kim,
"Aryl ether-free polymer electrolytes for electrochemical and energy devices",
Chem. Soc. Rev., 53, 5704 (2024).

C. A. Giron Rodriguez, N. C. Kani, A. B. Moss, B. O. Joensen, S. Garg, W. Deng, T. R. Willson, J. R. Varcoe, I. Chorkendorff, B. Seger,
"Insights into zero-gap CO2 electrolysis at elevated temperatures",
EES. Catal., 2, 850 (2024).

T. R. Willson, C. A. Giron Rodriguez, Q. Xu, J. Frow, F. Foglia, K. Smith, R. Ravikumar, M. Vinothkannan, N. Mahmoudi, I. Salam, A. P. Periasamy, D. K. Whelligan, M. Mamlouk, H. Lin, B. Seger, J. R. Varcoe,
"Radiation-grafted anion-exchange membranes for CO2 electroreduction cells: an unexpected effect of using a lower excess of N-methylpiperidine in their fabrication",
J. Mater. Chem. A, 11, 20724 (2023).

A. Chakraborty, I. Salam, M. Choolaei, J. Lee, C. Crean, D. K. Whelligan, R. Bance-Soualhi, J. R. Varcoe,
"Changes in permselectivity of radiation-grafted anion-exchange membranes with different cationic headgroup chemistries are primarily due to water content differences",
Mater. Adv., 4, 2099 (2023).

C. A. Giron Rodriguez, B. O. Joensen, A. B. Moss, G. O. Larrazábal, D. K. Whelligan, B. Seger, J. R. Varcoe, T. R. Willson,
"Influence of Headgroups in Ethylene-Tetrafluoroethylene-Based Radiation-Grafted Anion Exchange Membranes for CO2 Electrolysis",
ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng., 11, 1508 (2023).

S. Garg, C. A. Giron Rodriguez, T. E. Rufford, J. R. Varcoe, B. Seger,
"How membrane characteristics influence the performance of CO2 and CO electrolysis",
Energy Environ. Sci., 15, 4440 (2022).

F. Foglia, Q. Berrod, A. J. Clancy, K. Smith, G. Gebel, V. García Sakai, M. Appel, J.-M. Zanotti, M. Tyagi, N. Mahmoudi, T. S. Miller, J. R. Varcoe, A. P. Periasamy, D. J. L. Brett, P. R. Shearing, S. Lyonnard, P. F. McMillan,
"Disentangling water, ion and polymer dynamics in an anion exchange membrane",
Nature Mater., 21, 555 (2022).

R. Bance-Soualhi, M. Choolaei, S. A. Franklin, T. R. Willson, J. Lee, D. K. Whelligan, C. Crean, J. R. Varcoe,
"Radiation-grafted anion-exchange membranes for reverse electrodialysis: a comparison of N,N,N',N'-tetramethylhexane-1,6-diamine crosslinking (amination stage) and divinylbenzene crosslinking (grafting stage)",
J. Mater. Chem. A, 9, 22025 (2021). 
[A spreadsheet containing the data used to plot the figures in this article can be found at DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.14686875]

H. Adabi, A. Shakouri, N. U. Hassan, J. R. Varcoe, B. Zulevi, A. Serov, J. R. Regalbuto, W. E. Mustain,
"High-performing commercial Fe–N–C cathode electrocatalyst for anion-exchange membrane fuel cells",
Nature Energy, 6, 834 (2021).

H. A. Miller, M. V. Pagliaro, M. Bellini, F. Bartoli, L. Wang, I. Salam, J. R. Varcoe, F. Vizza,
"Integration of a Pd-CeO2/C Anode with Pt and Pt-Free Cathode Catalysts in High Power Density Anion Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells",
ACS Appl. Energy Mater., 3, 10209 (2020).

J. C. Douglin, J. R. Varcoe, D. R. Dekel,
"A high-temperature anion-exchange membrane fuel cell",
J. Power Sources Adv., 5, 100023 (2020).

X. Peng, D. Kulkarni, Y. Huang, T. J. Omasta, B. Ng, Y. Zheng, L. Wang, J. M. LaManna, D. S. Hussey, J. R. Varcoe, I. V. Zenyuk, W. E. Mustain,
"Using operando techniques to understand and design high performance and stable alkaline membrane fuel cells",
Nature Commun., 11, 3561 (2020).

Y. Zheng, T. J. Omasta, X. Peng, L. Wang, J. R. Varcoe, B. S. Pivovar, W. E. Mustain,
"Quantifying and elucidating the effect of CO2 on the thermodynamics, kinetics and charge transport of AEMFCs",
Energy Environ. Sci., 12, 2806 (2019).

T. R. Willson, I. Hamerton, J. R. Varcoe, R. Bance-Soualhi,
"Radiation-grafted cation-exchange membranes: an initial ex situ feasibility study into their potential use in reverse electrodialysis",
Sustainable Energy Fuels, 3, 1682 (2019).

L. Wang, X. Peng, W. E. Mustain, J. R. Varcoe,
"Radiation-grafted anion-exchange membranes: the switch from low- to high-density polyethylene leads to remarkably enhanced fuel cell performance",
Energy Environ. Sci., 12, 1575  (2019).
[Raw data (CC-BY) is available at DOI: 10.15126/surreydata.8050274]

X. Peng, T. J. Omasta, E. Magliocca, L. Wang, J. R. Varcoe, W. E. Mustain,
"N‐doped Carbon CoOx Nanohybrids: The First Precious Metal Free Cathode to Achieve 1.0 W/cm2 Peak Power and 100 h Life in Anion‐Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells"
Angew. Chem. Intl. Ed., 58, 1046 (2019).

A. L. Gonçalves Biancolli, D. Herranz, L. Wang, G. Stehlikova, R. Bance-Soualhi, J. Ponce-Gonzalez, P. Ocon, E. A. Ticianelli, D. K. Whelligan, J. R. Varcoe, E. I. Santiago,
"ETFE-based anion-exchange membrane ionomer powders for alkaline membrane fuel cells: a first performance comparison of head-group chemistry",
J. Mater. Chem. A, 6, 24330 (2018).

L. Wang, M. Bellini, H. A. Miller, J. R. Varcoe,
"A high conductivity ultrathin anion-exchange membrane with 500+ h alkali stability for use in alkaline membrane fuel cells that can achieve 2 W per square cm at 80 degC",
J. Mater. Chem. A, 6, 15404 (2018).

J. Ponce-Gonzalez, J. R. Varcoe, D. K. Whelligan,
"Commercial monomer availability leading to missed opportunities? Anion-exchange membranes made from meta-vinylbenzyl chloride exhibit an alkali stability enhancement",
ACS Appl. Energy Mater., 1, 1883 (2018).

T. J. Omasta, A. M. Park, J. M. LaManna, Y. Zhang, X. Peng, L. Wang, D. L. Jacobson, J. R. Varcoe, D. S. Hussey, B. S. Pivovar, W.  E. Mustain,
"Beyond Catalysis and Membranes: Visualizing and Solving the Challenge of Electrode Water Accumulation and Flooding in AEMFCs",
Energy Environ. Sci., 11, 551 (2018).

J. Ponce-Gonzalez, I. Ouachan, J. R. Varcoe, D. K. Whelligan,
"Radiation-induced grafting of a butyl-spacer styrenic monomer onto ETFE: the synthesis of the most alkali stable radiation-grafted anion-exchange membrane to date",
J. Mater. Chem. A, 6, 823 (2018).

L. Wang, J. J. Brink, J. R. Varcoe,
"The first anion-exchange membrane fuel cell to exceed 1 W cm-2 at 70 oC with a non-Pt-group (O2) cathode",
Chem. Commun., 53, 11771 (2017).

L. Wang, J. J. Brink, Y. Liu, A. M. Herring, J. Ponce-Gonzalez, D. K. Whelligan, J. R. Varcoe,
"Non-fluorinated pre-irradiation-grafted (peroxidated) LDPE-based anion-exchange membranes with high performance and stability",
Energy Environ. Sci., 10, 2154 (2017).

L. Wang, E. Maggliocca, E. L. Cunningham, W. E. Mustain, S. D. Poynton, R. Escudero-Cid, M. M. Nasef, J. Ponce-Gonzalez, R. Bance-Souahli, R. C. T. Slade, D. K. Whelligan, J. R. Varcoe,
"An optimised synthesis of high performance radiation-grafted anion-exchange membranes",
Green Chem., 19, 831 (2017).

J. Ponce-Gonzalez, D. K. Whelligan, L. Wang, R. Bance-Soualhi, Y. Wang, Y. Peng, H. Peng, D. C. Apperley, H. N. Sarode, T. P. Pandey, A. G. Divekar, S. Seifert, A. M. Herring, L. Zhuang, J. R. Varcoe,
"High performance aliphatic-heterocyclic benzyl-quaternary ammonium radiation-grafted anion-exchange membranes",
Energy Environ. Sci., 9, 3724 (2016). 

Other showcased publications:

Y. Cui, R. van Gorp, T. Bastos, M. Al Murisi, N. Ul Hassan, S. Lateef, Y. Jang, J. R. Varcoe, M. Shao, A. Forner-Cuenca, W. E. Mustain,
"Electrode-level water management strategies for anion exchange membrane fuel cells",
Electrochim. Acta, 512, 145538 (2025).

S. Willdorf-Cohen, A. Zhegur-Khais, J. Ponce-González, S. Bsoul-Haj, J. R. Varcoe, C. E. Diesendruck, D. R. Dekel,
"Alkaline Stability of Anion-Exchange Membranes",
ACS Appl. Energy Mater., 6, 1085 (2023).

K. Aggarwal, N. Gjineci, A. Kaushansky, S. Bsoul, J. C. Douglin, S. Li, I. Salam, S. Aharonovich, J. R. Varcoe, D. R. Dekel,  C. E. Diesendruck,
"Isoindolinium Groups as Stable Anion Conductors for Anion- Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells and Electrolyzers",
ACS Mater. Au, 2, 367 (2022)

J. J. Ogada, A. K. Ipadeola, P. V. Mwonga, A. B. Haruna, F. Nichols, S. Chen, H. A. Miller, M. V. Pagliaro, F. Vizza, J. R. Varcoe, D. Motta Meira, D. M. Wamwangi, K. I. Ozoemena,
"CeO2 Modulates the Electronic States of a Palladium Onion-Like Carbon Interface into a Highly Active and Durable Electrocatalyst for Hydrogen Oxidation in Anion-Exchange-Membrane Fuel Cells",
ACS Catalysis, 12, 7014 (2022).

S. Haj-Bsoul, J. R. Varcoe, D. R. Dekel,
"Measuring the alkaline stability of anion-exchange membranes",
J. Electroanal. Chem., 908, 116112 (2022).

J. C. Douglin, R. K. Singh, S. Haj-Bsoul, S. Li, J. Biemolt, N. Yan, J. R. Varcoe, G. Rothenburg, D. R. Dekel,
"A high-temperature anion-exchange membrane fuel cell with a critical raw material-free cathode",
Chem. Eng. J. Adv., 8, 100153 (2021).

J. Zhang, Y. He, K. Zhang, X. Liang, R. Bance-Soualhi, Y. Zhu, X. Ge, M. A. Shehzad, W. Yu, Z. Ge, L. Wu, J. R. Varcoe, T. W. Xu,
"Cation–dipole interaction that creates ordered ion channels in an anion exchange membrane for fast OH− conduction", 
AIChE J., 67, e17133 (2021).

R. Ren, X. Wang, H. Chen, H. A. Miller, I. Salam, J. R. Varcoe, L. Wu, Y. Chen, H.-G. Liao, E. Liu, F. Bartoli, F. Vizza, Q. Jia, Q. He,
"Reshaping the Cathodic Catalyst Layer for Anion Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells: From Heterogeneous Catalysis to Homogeneous Catalysis",
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 60, 4049 (2021).

Y. Zheng, G. Huang, M. Mandal, J. R. Varcoe, P. A. Kohl, W. E. Mustain,
"Editors’ Choice—Power-Generating Electrochemical CO2 Scrubbing from Air Enabling Practical AEMFC Application",
J. Electrochem. Soc., 168, 024504 (2021).

K. M. Meek, C. M> Reed, B. Pivovar, K.-D. Kreuer, J. R. Varcoe, R. Bance-Soualhi,
"The alkali degradation of LDPE-based radiation-grafted anion-exchange membranes studied using different ex situ methods",
RSC Adv., 10, 36467 (2020).

J. Muller, A. Zhegur, U. Krewer, J. R. Varcoe, D. R. Dekel,
"A practical ex-situ technique to measure the chemical stability of anion-exchange membranes under conditions simulating fuel cell environment",
ACS Mater. Lett., 2, 168 (2020).

M. N. Sweilam, S. F. Cordery,S. Totti, E. G. Velliou, P. Campagnolo, J. R. Varcoe, M. Begoña Delgado-Charro, C. Crean,
"Textile-based non-invasive lithium drug monitoring: A proof-of-concept study for wearable sensing",
Biosensors & Bioelectronics, 150, 111897 (2020).

X. Liang, M. A. Shehzad, Y. Zhu, L. Wang, X. Ge, J. Zhang, Z. Yang, L. Wu, J. R. Varcoe, T. Xu,
"Ionomer Cross-linking Immobilization of Catalyst Nanoparticles for High Performance Alkaline Membrane Fuel Cell",
Chemistry of Materials,  31, 7812 (2019).

M. Wang, H. Zhang, G. Thirunavukkarasu, I. Salam, J. R. Varcoe, P. Mardle, X. Li, S. Mu, S. Du,
"Ionic liquid-modified microporous ZnCoNC-based electrocatalysts for polymer electrolyte fuel cells",
ACS Energy Lett., 4, 2104 (2019).

M. Bellini, M. V. Pagliaro, A. Lenarda, P. Fornasiero, M. Marelli, C. Evangelisti, M. Innocenti, Q. Jia, S. Mukerjee, J. Jankovic, L. Wang, J. R. Varcoe, C. B. Krishnamurthy, I. Grinberg, E. Davydova, D. R. Dekel, H. A. Miller, F. Vizza,
"Palladium−Ceria Catalysts with Enhanced Alkaline Hydrogen Oxidation Activity for Anion Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells",
ACS Appl. Energy Mater., 2, 4999 (2019).

R. E. Smith, S. Totti, E. Velliou, P. Campagnolo, S. M. Hingley-Wilson, N. I. Ward, J. R. Varcoe, C. Crean,
"Development of a novel highly conductive and flexible cotton yarn for wearable pH sensor technology",
Sensors Actuators B: Chem., 287, 338 (2019).

Y. Zhu, L. Ding, X. Liang, M. A. Shehzad, L. Wang, X. Ge, Y. He, L. Wu, J. R. Varcoe, T. Xu,
"Beneficial use of rotatable-spacer side-chains in alkaline anion exchange membrane fuel cells",
Energy Environ. Sci., 11, 3472 (2018).

M.N. Sweilam, J.R. Varcoe, C. Crean,
"Fabrication and Optimization of Fiber-Based Lithium Sensor: A Step towards Wearable Sensors for Lithium Drug Monitoring in Interstitial Fluid",
ACS Sensors, 3, 1802 (2018).

Y. Zheng, U. Ash, R. P. Pandey, A. G. Ozioko, J. Ponce-González, M. Handl, T. Weissbach, J. R. Varcoe, S. Holdcroft, M. W. Liberatore, R. Hiesgen, D. R. Dekel,
"Water Uptake Study of Anion Exchange Membranes",
Macromolecules, 51, 3264 (2018).

W.H. Lee, C.Crean, J. R. Varcoe, R. Bance-Soualhi,
"A Raman spectro-microscopic investigation of ETFE-based radiation-grafted anion-exchange membrane",
RSC Adv., 7, 47726 (2017).

Y. Lu, L. Wang, K. Preuss, M. Qiao, M.-M. Titirici, J. R. Varcoe, Q. Cai,
"Halloysite-derived nitrogen-doped carbon electrocatalysts for anion exchange membrane fuel cells",
J. Power Sources, 372, 82 (2017).

T. J. Omasta, L. Wang, X. Peng, C. A. Lewis, J. R. Varcoe, W. E. Mustain,
"Importance of balancing membrane and electrode water in anion exchange membrane fuel cells",
J. Power Sources, 375, 205 (2018).

J. R. Varcoe featured in W. Germer,
"International experts meet in Germany to discuss trends in anion exchange membranes",
Fuel Cell Bulletin, volume 2014, Issue 10, pp. 12-15.

T. P. Pandey, A. M. Maes, H. N. Sarode, B. D Peters, S. Lavinia, Ki Vezzu, Y. Yang, S. Poynton, J. R. Varcoe, S. Seifert, M. Liberatore, V. Di Noto, A. Herring,
"Interplay between water uptake, ion interactions, and conductivity in an e-beam grafted poly(ethylene-co-tetrafluoroethylene) anion exchange membrane",
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 17, 4367 (2015).

A. Ong, K. K. Inglis, D. K. Whelligan, S. Murphy, J. R. Varcoe,
"Effect of cationic molecules on the oxygen reduction reaction on fuel cell grade Pt/C (20%wt) catalyst in potassium hydroxide (aq, 1 mol dm-3)",
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 17, 12135 (2015).

S. D. Poynton, R. C. T. Slade, T. Omasta, W. E. Mustain, R. Escudero Cid, P. Ocón, J. R. Varcoe,
"Preparation of radiation-grafted powders for use as anion exchange ionomers in alkaline polymer electrolyte fuel cells",
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2, 5124 (2014).

C. A. Hancock, A. Ong, P. R. Slater, J. R. Varcoe,
"Development of CaMn1-xRuxO3-y (x = 0 and 0.15) oxygen reduction catalysts for use in low temperature electrochemical devices containing alkaline electrolytes: Ex situ testing using the rotating ring-disk electrode voltammetry method.",
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2, 3047 (2014).