James A. Behan
Chargé de Recherche/Assistant Professor CNRS
Institut des Sciences Chimiques de Rennes
Download my Curriculum Vitae.
Contact me at james.behan@univ-rennes.fr for questions. I am always looking for new collaborations!
Interests
- Electrocatalysis
- Electroactive Bacteria
- Nanomaterial Synthesis and Characterisation
- Bio-Nano Interactions
- Nanocarbon Electrochemistry
Education
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PhD in Physical Chemistry, 2018
Trinity College Dublin
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Bachelor's Degree in Chemistry, 2014
Trinity College Dublin
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Postgraduate Certificate in Statistics, 2017
School of Computer Science and Statistics, Trinity College Dublin
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Diploma in Python Programming, 2020
CCT College Dublin
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Nanodegree in Data Science with Python, 2021
Udacity (Remote Learning Course)
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Laureate of AMI Emergence Entrepeneurship Programme, 2022
Deeptech Bretagne
News
Recent Publications
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(2025).
Electrocatalytic Hydrogenation of Unsaturated Organics Using Mo and W Porous Carbon-Encapsulated Nanostructures: Impact of Metal Type on Properties and Performances.
In: Journal of Materials Chemistry A.
(2025).
Porous N-Doped Carbon-encapsulated Iron as Novel Catalyst Architecture for the Electrocatalytic Hydrogenation of Benzaldehyde.
In: ChemSusChem 18.
(2025).
Single-Entity Electrochemistry of N-Doped Graphene Oxide Nanostructures for Improved Kinetics of Vanadyl Oxidation.
In: Small 21.
(2024).
Development of Bioanodes Rich in Exoelectrogenic Bacteria Using Iron-Rich Palaeomarine Sediment Inoculum.
In: Bioelectrochemistry 156.
(2024).
Effects of Polydopamine Incorporation on the Nanostructure and Electrochemical Performance of Electrodeposited Polypyrrole Films.
In: C 10.
(2024).
Electrochemistry of Elements | Iron.
In: Reference Module in Chemistry, Molecular Sciences and Chemical Engineering.
(2024).
Microbial Nitrate Reduction Electro-Assisted by Exo-Electrogenic Reduction of Dioxygen with a \emphPseudomonas Dominated Cathodic Biofilm.
In: Electrochimica Acta 497.
(2023).
Fe(III) Oxide Microparticles Modulate Extracellular Electron Transfer in Anodic Biofilms Dominated by Bacteria of the Pelobacter Genus.
In: Bioelectrochemistry 151.
(2023).
Quartz Crystal Microbalance Method to Measure Nanoparticle–Receptor Interactions and Evaluate Nanoparticle Design Efficiency.
In: JACS Au 3.
(2023).
Respiration in Electroactive Bacteria: Bioinorganic Aspects.
In: Encyclopedia of Inorganic and Bioinorganic Chemistry.
(2022).
Designing Functional Bionanoconstructs for Effective \emphIn Vivo Targeting.
In: Bioconjugate Chemistry 33.
(2021).
Understanding Intracellular Nanoparticle Trafficking Fates through Spatiotemporally Resolved Magnetic Nanoparticle Recovery.
In: Nanoscale Advances 3.
(2020).
Tailored Glycosylated Anode Surfaces: Addressing the Exoelectrogen Bacterial Community via Functional Layers for Microbial Fuel Cell Applications.
In: Bioelectrochemistry 136.
(2020).
Bioinspired Electro-Permeable Glycans on Carbon: Fouling Control for Sensing in Complex Matrices.
In: Carbon 158.
(2020).
Reactive Plasma N-Doping of Amorphous Carbon Electrodes: Decoupling Disorder and Chemical Effects on Capacitive and Electrocatalytic Performance.
In: Frontiers in chemistry.
(2020).
Electrocatalysis at Nanocarbons: Model Systems and Applications in Energy Conversion.
In: Nanocarbon Electrochemistry.
(2019).
Capacitive Storage at Nitrogen Doped Amorphous Carbon Electrodes: Structural and Chemical Effects of Nitrogen Incorporation.
In: RSC advances 9.
(2019).
Electrocatalysis of N-doped Carbons in the Oxygen Reduction Reaction as a Function of pH: N-sites and Scaffold Effects.
In: Carbon 148.
(2019).
Influence of Carbon Nanostructure and Oxygen Moieties on Dopamine Adsorption and Charge Transfer Kinetics at Glassy Carbon Surfaces.
In: Electrochimica Acta 304.
(2019).
Untangling Cooperative Effects of Pyridinic and Graphitic Nitrogen Sites at Metal-Free N-Doped Carbon Electrocatalysts for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction.
In: Small 15.
(2018).
Experimental and Computational Study of Dopamine as an Electrochemical Probe of the Surface Nanostructure of Graphitized N-doped Carbon.
In: The Journal of Physical Chemistry C 122.
(2018).
Spontaneous Aryldiazonium Grafting for the Preparation of Functional Cyclodextrin-Modified Materials.
In: ACS Applied Bio Materials 1.
(2017).
Combined Optoelectronic and Electrochemical Study of Nitrogenated Carbon Electrodes.
In: The Journal of Physical Chemistry C 121.
(2017).
Determination of Surface ζ-Potential and Isoelectric Point of Carbon Surfaces Using Tracer Particle Suspensions.
In: Surface and Interface Analysis 49.
(2017).
Nanoplasmonic Sensing at the Carbon-Bio Interface: Study of Protein Adsorption at Graphitic and Hydrogenated Carbon Surfaces.
In: Langmuir 33.
(2016).
Modulation of Protein Fouling and Interfacial Properties at Carbon Surfaces via Immobilization of Glycans Using Aryldiazonium Chemistry.
In: Scientific reports 6.
Recent and Upcoming Talks
Featured Publications
Experience
Chargé de Recherche CNRS
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Bienvenue Fellow
Responsibilities include:
- Investigation of capacity of bacterial biofilms to synthesise novel electrocatalysts
- Writing and publishing original research
- Advising and supervising PhD candidates and other junior students
Irish Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow
Responsibilities included:
- My project NANO-INT focused on the investigation of nanomaterial - biological system interactions
- This involved a combination of nanoparticle synthesis and surface modification
- Supervision of numerous PhD, Masters and Project Students
- Co-coordinator Bio-Nano Master’s module with Prof. Kenneth Dawson (2019-2020)
Lecturer in Physical Chemistry
Responsibilities included:
- Designed and produced lecture series in thermodynamics aimed at applications in pharmacy
- ca. 100 students in 1st and 2nd year pharmacy
- 20 lecture contact hours in addition to tutorials, pre-exam sessions
- Prepared and set final exam questions and marking scheme
Part-Time Lecturer, Introduction to Chemistry
Description of work:
- Prepared and delivered lecture and tutorial series aimed at students new to the field
- Part time position held concomitantly with PhD and Physical Chemistry lecturing duties
- Multiple 1-2 H sessions/week with a dozen students per session
- Prepared multiple self-test and exam preparatory sessions, supplementary notes and worked problem examples
PhD, Physical Chemistry
Description of work:
- Synthesis and investigation of carbon nanomaterials for electrocatalytic and electroanalytic applications
- Heteroatom doped nanocarbons for oxygen reduction
- Modifying carbon electrode interfaces for favourable bio-nano interactions
- Proficiency in variety of electrochemical, spectroscopic and optoelectronic characterisation techniques
HAL
Committed to Open Access Publishing
Statistics
Trained in statistical analysis
Python Programming
Chemistry
Electrochemistry
Japanese (JLPT N4 certified)
Projects
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