Debbie Silvester’s research activities include understanding electrochemical processes with a focus on sensing. She is particularly interested in the role of room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) as replacements for organic solvents in various electrochemical reactions. RTILs are a new and interesting class of solvent that possess several properties such as: negligible vapour pressure, intrinsic conductivity, wide electrochemical windows, high chemical and thermal stability, high polarity and the ability to dissolve a wide range of compounds.

Debbie is also the secretary for the Electrochemistry division of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (EDRACI) and the Australia/New Zealand representative for the International Society of Electrochemistry (ISE).