Rate My Professor Ave Sarapuu

Sarapuu's research specializes in the electrocatalysis of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), focusing on the development of non-precious metal catalysts such as transition metal- and nitrogen-doped nanocarbon materials for anion-exchange membrane fuel cells (AEMFCs) and proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). She employs biomass-derived precursors and template-assisted synthesis to create mesoporous and hierarchically porous electrocatalysts that exhibit high activity and durability. With 80 publications garnering over 3,850 citations, notable works include "Recent Advances in Non-Precious Metal Single-Atom Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Reduction Reaction in Low-Temperature Polymer-Electrolyte Fuel Cells" (ChemCatChem, 2023), "Lignin-Derived Precious Metal-Free Electrocatalysts for Anion-Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Application" (ACS Catalysis, 2024), "Transition-Metal and Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Nanotube/Graphene Hybrid Electrocatalysts for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction" (ACS Applied Energy Materials, 2023), and "Hierarchically Porous Fe-N-C Single-Atom Catalysts via Ionothermal Synthesis for Oxygen Reduction Reaction" (ChemSusChem, 2024). She utilizes techniques such as rotating disk electrode voltammetry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. Sarapuu has supervised doctoral theses, including Jaana Lilloja's on transition metal and nitrogen-doped nanocarbon cathode catalysts (2022) and Kaarel Kisand's on resorcinol-derived carbon-based catalysts. She has acted as principal investigator on projects like ETF8380 and contributed to group achievements, with her team nominated for national research awards in 2025.