James A. Behan
Chargé de Recherche/Assistant Professor CNRS
Institut des Sciences Chimiques de Rennes
Welcome to the homepage for the lab of Dr James A. Behan, Chargé de Recherche CNRS.
I am a researcher working at the interface of electrochemistry, nanomaterials and microbiology for applications in catalysis, green synthesis of novel materials and advancing our understanding of bio-nano interactions.
Download my Curriculum Vitae.
Contact me at james.behan@univ-rennes.fr for questions. I am always looking for new collaborations!
Check out the most recent news from the team.
See all of our publications.
Recent Publications
Search through our papers by filtering publications.
(2025).
Electrocatalytic Hydrogenation of Unsaturated Organics Using Mo and W Porous Carbon-Encapsulated Nanostructures: Impact of Metal Type on Properties and Performances.
Journal of Materials Chemistry A.
(2025).
Porous N-Doped Carbon-Encapsulated Iron as Novel Catalyst Architecture for the Electrocatalytic Hydrogenation of Benzaldehyde.
ChemSusChem.
(2025).
Single-Entity Electrochemistry of N-Doped Graphene Oxide Nanostructures for Improved Kinetics of Vanadyl Oxidation.
Small.
(2025).
Sustainable Nanocarbons via Biocatalysis of C–F Bond Cleavage by Electroactive Bacteria.
Carbon.
(2025).
Challenges and Opportunities for the Production of Sustainable Active Species for Redox Flow Batteries in Bioelectrochemical Systems.
Chemical Engineering Journal.
(2024).
Microbial Nitrate Reduction Electro-Assisted by Exo-Electrogenic Reduction of Dioxygen with a \emphPseudomonas Dominated Cathodic Biofilm.
Electrochimica Acta.
(2024).
Development of Bioanodes Rich in Exoelectrogenic Bacteria Using Iron-Rich Palaeomarine Sediment Inoculum.
Bioelectrochemistry.
(2024).
Electrochemistry of Elements | Iron.
Reference Module in Chemistry, Molecular Sciences and Chemical Engineering.
(2023).
Fe(III) Oxide Microparticles Modulate Extracellular Electron Transfer in Anodic Biofilms Dominated by Bacteria of the Pelobacter Genus.
Bioelectrochemistry.
(2023).
Quartz Crystal Microbalance Method to Measure Nanoparticle–Receptor Interactions and Evaluate Nanoparticle Design Efficiency.
JACS Au.
(2023).
Respiration in Electroactive Bacteria: Bioinorganic Aspects.
Encyclopedia of Inorganic and Bioinorganic Chemistry.
(2022).
Designing Functional Bionanoconstructs for Effective \emphIn Vivo Targeting.
Bioconjugate Chemistry.
(2021).
Understanding Intracellular Nanoparticle Trafficking Fates through Spatiotemporally Resolved Magnetic Nanoparticle Recovery.
Nanoscale Advances.
(2020).
Tailored Glycosylated Anode Surfaces: Addressing the Exoelectrogen Bacterial Community via Functional Layers for Microbial Fuel Cell Applications.
Bioelectrochemistry.
(2020).
Electrocatalysis at Nanocarbons: Model Systems and Applications in Energy Conversion.
Nanocarbon Electrochemistry.
(2020).
Reactive Plasma N-Doping of Amorphous Carbon Electrodes: Decoupling Disorder and Chemical Effects on Capacitive and Electrocatalytic Performance.
Frontiers in chemistry.
(2020).
Bioinspired Electro-Permeable Glycans on Carbon: Fouling Control for Sensing in Complex Matrices.
Carbon.
(2019).
Capacitive Storage at Nitrogen Doped Amorphous Carbon Electrodes: Structural and Chemical Effects of Nitrogen Incorporation.
RSC advances.
(2019).
Electrocatalysis of N-Doped Carbons in the Oxygen Reduction Reaction as a Function of pH: N-Sites and Scaffold Effects.
Carbon.
(2019).
Influence of Carbon Nanostructure and Oxygen Moieties on Dopamine Adsorption and Charge Transfer Kinetics at Glassy Carbon Surfaces.
Electrochimica Acta.
(2018).
Experimental and Computational Study of Dopamine as an Electrochemical Probe of the Surface Nanostructure of Graphitized N-Doped Carbon.
The Journal of Physical Chemistry C.
(2018).
Spontaneous Aryldiazonium Grafting for the Preparation of Functional Cyclodextrin-Modified Materials.
ACS Applied Bio Materials.
(2017).
Combined Optoelectronic and Electrochemical Study of Nitrogenated Carbon Electrodes.
The Journal of Physical Chemistry C.
(2017).
Determination of Surface ζ-Potential and Isoelectric Point of Carbon Surfaces Using Tracer Particle Suspensions.
Surface and Interface Analysis.
News
Recent and Upcoming Talks
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
Projects
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“BauxCLEAN” - CNRS 80Prime Interdisciplinary Project on the Clean Extraction of Iron from Bauxites Using Electroactive Bacteria
Following on from the MicroBaux project, we were privileged to obtain financing for a 3-year doctoral fellowship to continue this exciting research! This project, entitled BauxCLEAN, will expand the preliminary studies of MicroBAUX.
“MicroBaux” - CNRS Interdisciplinary Project on the Clean Extraction of Iron from Bauxites Using Electroactive Bacteria
The extraction of aluminium from Bauxite requires a separation from other undesirable components such as iron by acid leaching and high temperature annealing, which leaves a non-exploited ‘red mud’ with both economic and environmental implications.