Nanoscience and Advanced Materials

Solvent-mediated oxide hydrogenation in layered cathodes

Anonymous — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 06:00:00 +0000

Solvent-mediated oxide hydrogenation in layered cathodes Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 09/12/2024 - 00:00

SCIENCE, 2024, 385, 6714, 1230-1236

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Discovery could lead to longer-lasting EV batteries, hasten energy transition

Anonymous — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 06:00:00 +0000

Discovery could lead to longer-lasting EV batteries, hasten energy transition Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 09/12/2024 - 00:00

Mike Toney explores how lithium-ion batteries self-discharge to improve future designs

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Probing intermediate configurations of oxygen evolution catalysis across the light spectrum

Anonymous — Mon, 09 Sep 2024 06:00:00 +0000

Probing intermediate configurations of oxygen evolution catalysis across the light spectrum Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 09/09/2024 - 00:00

Mapping a route for more efficient production of sustainable fuels

Read the Article

Find out more about CEDARS

This perspective article, led by RASEI Fellow Tanja Cuk, brings together researchers at six research institutions from across the United States, to describe how advances in spectroscopy and theory can map out the elementary details of the oxygen evolution reaction, a critical reaction to enable the production of fuels from sustainable energy sources.

The oxygen evolution reaction (or OER for short), is a critical step in the creation of sustainable, decarbonized fuels, such as hydrogen. Water (H₂O) can be split into hydrogen (H₂) and oxygen (O₂) using electricity. This process pulls apart strong chemical bonds – it takes a lot of energy! If we can better understand this process, we can make it more efficient, which will enable us to create clean fuels and store renewable energy, like solar and wind power, to smooth out variations in the supply. Specifically, the OER is the half-reaction that occurs at the anode (positive electrode) during electrolysis, in which the water molecules are oxidized to produce oxygen gas (O₂), protons (H⁺), and electrons. Though this sounds straightforward, the process involves multiple intermediates, or steps, many of which are currently poorly defined. Understanding this complex process requires a collaborative approach. Jin Suntivich (Cornell University) and Dhananjay Kumar (North Carolina A&T) bring expertise in making advanced materials and electrochemistry, Geoffroy Hautier (Dartmouth College) and Ismaila Dabo (Carnegie Mellon University) develop theoretical models, and Ethan Crumlin (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory), Tanja Cuk (CU Boulder), and Jin Suntivich use X-ray and optical spectroscopy to visualize the small molecular intermediates.

Imagine that you have to drive from Denver, Colorado, to Greensboro, North Carolina. If someone gave you a map that only showed your starting location and destination, it would be quite difficult. You would know that you had to head east, but you wouldn’t know what roads to take, which were the fastest moving, or where any good stops were along the way. You could probably get there, but you would get lost a few times on the way, use some of the slow roads, and maybe be stuck staying in places you didn’t want to. It would be a very inefficient journey. Now compare this to using a modern navigation app, one that has details of every road along the way, the speed limits, the traffic levels, where all the gas stations are, the good restaurants and coffee shops, and good places to stop for the night. You would be far more efficient (and happy) using the navigation app.

It is the same with a chemical reaction. If you understand the elementary steps of a reaction, you can design a system that is more efficient and effective at getting to the final product. Creating this ‘map’ for the OER is a central mission of the Center for Electrochemical Dynamics and Reactions on Surfaces (CEDARS). CEDARS is a Department of Energy funded Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC), that brings together twelve research groups at five universities and two DOE national labs across the chemical, materials, and computational sciences. CEDARS is headed by Director Dhananjay Kumar at North Carolina A&T, with a strong program in thin materials research. This is the first EFRC awarded to an HBCU as a lead institution in the country. There are several challenges that need to be overcome before the OER process can be scaled up. Currently OER is expensive, energy intensive and not reliable for continuous long-term operation. OER requires large inputs of electricity, the catalysts used in the reaction are based on scarce materials that are unstable under long-term exposure to the harsh conditions present in the OER process. By better understanding the elementary steps of the OER reaction researchers can design cheaper, more efficient processes.

RASEI Fellow, and Associate Director of CEDARS Tanja Cuk explains that there have been a series of proposed oxygen-related intermediates (e.g. OH*, O*, O-O), but it has been hard to capture experimental evidence for them and the elementary steps that create them. “The article is a perspective on how to get at the intermediates and their dynamics within the buried electrode-electrolyte interface. The approach involves model crystalline materials, targeted spectroscopies to isolate the intermediates, and theoretical investigations that predict how they appear in the electrochemistry and the spectroscopy. We also use materials that bind the intermediates at different strengths, so that they appear statically and transiently.” This fundamental and basic energy sciences approach combines expertise from across CEDARS bringing together computational theoretical modeling, materials synthesis, and spectroscopy. The diversity of institutions involved has already provided for many student and postdoctoral exchanges that further deepen the background of the team and broaden the scope of the research. Just last month the Center Director and his graduate student visited NREL and CU to test the samples made at NCAT.

Precise control of the materials under investigation is required for effective characterization and theoretical modeling. Dhananjay Kumar, Jin Suntivich, and collaborators within CEDARS use a process called epitaxial layer deposition, a procedure where a thin crystalline layer is grown on top of a substrate. For these investigations the epitaxial layers are the OER catalysts made from ruthenium and titanium oxides that are then tested electrochemically. Geoffroy Hautier is a materials theorist who uses computational models to calculate the structure and defects that intermediates create in the materials and their impacts on x-ray and optical spectra. Ismaila Dabo takes these configurations and creates a model of the electrical and water environment around the electrode interface, describing a more realistic environment for the OER processes. To provide a more detailed understanding, the theoretical models are tested and refined based on feedback from advanced spectroscopic observations. The spectroscopies highlight static spectra of intermediate coverages and transient intermediates during OER. Jin Suntivich brings expertise in combining in-situ electrochemistry with non-linear optical techniques; Ethan Crumlin develops in-situ and time-resolved x-ray spectroscopies; Tanja Cuk combines in-situ electrochemistry with ultrafast optical spectroscopy. Integrating the computational advances with the experimental observations provides a powerful toolkit. Accurate interpretation of the spectral observations relies on the findings from the computational techniques.

While the ‘map’ for the OER has not been solved, this interdisciplinary and fundamental approach to interrogating the OER process is providing invaluable insights into how different catalysts bind to the intermediates and how this impacts different reaction pathways. By characterizing the nature of the intermediates bound to the catalyst an understanding of their equilibrium behavior during the OER process can be developed. The CEDARS team are already thinking about next steps for this powerful approach. These include understanding the non-equilibrium dynamics of these intermediates by fully time resolved x-ray and optical probes and investigating more complex material structures. The observations from these ‘in-process’ reactions will help define the roadmap to a more efficient and cost-effective approach to generate clean fuels from renewable energy sources.

NATURE ENERGY, 2024 | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-024-01583-x

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Profile: Benjamin Hammel

Anonymous — Mon, 09 Sep 2024 06:00:00 +0000

Profile: Benjamin Hammel Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 09/09/2024 - 00:00

Daniel Morton

Ben Hammel is a graduate student in the Dukovic group at CU Boulder, who is using advanced microscopic techniques with Sadegh Yazdi to provide insights into the relationships between materials structures and properties, specifically materials associated with renewable energy research. We caught up with Ben to find out more about what led him to this research area, what excites him about this field of study, and what he gets up to outside the lab.

Where did you grow up?

I am from Albuquerque, New Mexico. I grew up outside the city limits, on the southwest mesa. There are a lot of alfalfa farms and other agricultural industries around there. One of the really cool things about that part of New Mexico is the rich cultural heritage, there is a lot of cultures coming together, with such a long history. Some of the earliest settlements in the United States are in New Mexico!

What did you get up to as a kid?

I enjoyed exploring outside and hiking. Lots of great mountains near Albuquerque and good camping in northern New Mexico.

What drew you into science and research?

New Mexico is kind of this secret hub for scientific research. There is such a rich community of scientists and researchers there and a long history of amazing work. The Manhattan Project, Los Alamos and Sandia National Labs – they set up these huge institutions for research. These all have a trickle-down effect that has impacted a huge number of people and was definitely something that played a big part in my early thinking.

I started doing research at a really young age. As a freshman in high school, I wrote on my resume that my goal was to become a particle physicist! This got passed along to a retired Sandia National Labs scientist, Pace VanDevender, who then took me under his wing. I worked with him as a summer research assistant that year, and it made me think that my path would lead to working at Sandia.

When I was 16, I had the opportunity to work in a chemistry lab at Sandia National Labs – prior to that I had been all about physics and electrical engineering. I was very much interested in energy research and I was really into building projects and devices, such as a regenerative bicycle braking system. I didn’t really like chemistry and I started from basically nothing. On my first day, the researchers in the lab (LaRico Treadwell and Daniel Yonemoto) took me through my first reaction, how to calculate the amount of reagents and how to mix them – I didn’t even know how to do a mass balance! The support I got from that lab (Tim, Rico, Daniel, Jeremiah, Francesca, Diana, and Fernando to name a few) was fantastic and very rapidly chemistry became my main interest. My mentor, the venerable Timothy J. Boyle, said “Ben, learning chemistry in this lab is like learning how to drive in a Lamborghini!” I had a very flexible school schedule that enabled me to work at Sandia a lot. And I fell in love with chemistry.

So, you were hooked on research at a young age, how did this inform your decisions about university?

I really wanted to find a way to combine my early interest in building things and engineering with my passion for chemistry. The University of Pennsylvania has this program called the Vagelos Integrated Program in Energy Research, or VIPER, that gives you the chance to do 2 degrees and that really drew me in. I did chemistry plus materials science and engineering and I stuck with those all the way through.

I was looking for ways to combine making molecules with applications in nanoscience, and that led me to working in the lab of Christopher Murray. I was looking for paid work and my Mom said “You can either work as a dishwasher, or you can work in a chemistry lab”, so I was glad that I persuaded Chris to let me join his lab.

Later during my undergraduate degree, in 2019, I did an internship at NREL, and I ended up working on something completely different, microbubble insulation. This was much more a materials engineering project working with researchers Lin Simpson and Chaiwat Engtrakul. We were gluing bubbles together to form foam bricks for use in insulation. The aim was to try and make something that was cheap, had high performance, and robust to damage and defects.

Coming out of that internship I realized that what really fascinated me was the fundamental chemistry I was doing more than the engineering aspects. I became very interested in the fundamentals of what was happening at the surfaces of these microbubbles, much more than the engineering challenges, and that is what steered me more toward chemistry and materials science.

I really enjoyed my time at NREL, both the research and the opportunities to spend time outdoors, it was one of the big draws when I was looking into graduate school.

Describe the research that you are involved in now

I work on the fundamental end of materials and energy research. We aim to learn how we can make nanomaterials that are better catalysts, which involves fabricating these nanomaterials in an extremely precise fashion, so that we have clear understanding about the materials structure and properties. Of specific interest is the electronic structure, since this impacts how it absorbs light. Armed with this fundamental understanding we can better guide the design of the next generation of materials for energy harvesting, storage, and transport. Working out how the structure of a material influences its properties is what really interests me at the moment.

Your research involves a great deal of collaboration, how has that impacted your work?

I think my experience of working in both engineering and chemistry has helped me connect with folks from different disciplines. I have learned that there are many ways in which teams are forming in the energy sciences, and it’s these teams that are doing the really cool science. It’s also interesting to consider some of the social and economic impacts of doing research and thinking about cost and other factors that are going to dictate which technologies get commercialized.

Early on I wanted to be involved in every part of the research spectrum, from discovery to application. But you can’t do it all. And as I have specialized, I have really enjoyed working as an integral part of bigger research teams, where I can be aware of the big picture, make meaningful contributions through my specialty, and engage and learn from others.

What do you enjoy doing outside of the lab?

I do really enjoy spending time outdoors, but my main hobby is gaming. I play a game called League of Legends, and at one point I was in the top 0.1% of players online. It got pretty competitive and required a ton of work. I entertained the idea of playing professionally. But when I ended up playing against some professional players, I quickly realized there was no chance I could ever go pro! I play a lot more casually now.

What would you say to someone considering a research path?

For me I found that scientists and engineers operate in quite different ways, and when you start taking both sets of classes you rapidly pick up on this. If someone is trying to do the same kind of dual pathway, it is hard at first, but it really is worth persevering. Having expertise in one area is important but having a more general perspective can come in very useful and gives you a broad skillset. You can think at a bunch of different scales, and from different perspectives, which I found challenging at first but have found to be very useful.

What are the future impacts of your research that you are excited about?

I think virtual reality displays are going to bring huge benefits. The most expensive part of these at the moment is the display. Engineering new materials that are super small and super bright will make these really high-resolution. We are going to get this amazing technology that is going to have a lot of great practical applications, I think VR will be a game changer.

Microscopy is also blowing up right now. It is now almost routine to look at atoms, which really changes how you think about and make materials. We are reaching higher and higher levels of precision, which I think is going to open the door to new applications. I don’t know what those are going to be!

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BES: Colloidal nanocrystals to advance catalysis and energy technologies

Anonymous — Fri, 23 Aug 2024 06:00:00 +0000

BES: Colloidal nanocrystals to advance catalysis and energy technologies Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 08/23/2024 - 00:00

Friday August 23, 2024

SEEC C120

2:00 - 3:00 PM

Abstract

Affordable clean energy and climate action are two of the sustainable development goals set by the United Nations to be achieved by 2030. The vast majority of energy technologies relies on nanomaterials. The progress of these technologies is strongly connected to the ability of inorganic chemists to tune the function-dictating features of nanomaterials. (i.e. size, composition, composition, morphology). In this talk, I will present our recent group efforts towards the synthesis via colloidal chemistry of atomically defined nanocrystals (NCs) which helps addressing current challenges in catalysis and energy conversion.

Biography

Professor Raffaella Buonsanti is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at EPFL. She leads a multidisciplinary research program which spans from nanoscience to materials chemistry and electrocatalysis. She has received an ERC Starting Grant in 2016 and an ERC Consolidator Grant in 2022 in addition to numerous awards, including the Swiss Chemical Society Werner Price in 2021, the European Chemical Society Lecture Award and the Royal Chemical Society ChemComm Emerging Investigator Lectureship in 2019, the ACS Inorganic Nanoscience Award in 2024. She is also an Associate Editor of ACS Catalysis.

Raffaella Buonsanti | EPFL, Switzerland

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BES: Stimuli-responsive electronic energy levels at interfaces between organic semiconductors and perovskites & 2D semiconductors

Anonymous — Fri, 16 Aug 2024 06:00:00 +0000

BES: Stimuli-responsive electronic energy levels at interfaces between organic semiconductors and perovskites & 2D semiconductors Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 08/16/2024 - 00:00

Friday August 16, 2024

SEEC S228, Sievers Room

12:00 - 1:00 PM

Prof. Norbert Koch hosted a broad discussion around approaches for exploring the energy levels of organic semiconductors, with a particular focus on interactions across interfaces. This provided a didactic overview for researchers working on organic semiconductors, 2D semiconductors and perovskites.

Norbert Koch | Humboldt-Universitat zu Berlin

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The Smalyukh Group wins the Guinness World Record for the most Transparent Material

Anonymous — Thu, 15 Aug 2024 06:00:00 +0000

The Smalyukh Group wins the Guinness World Record for the most Transparent Material Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 08/15/2024 - 00:00

Kenna Hughes-Castleberry

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R&D 100 Winners for 2024 are Announced

Anonymous — Thu, 08 Aug 2024 06:00:00 +0000

R&D 100 Winners for 2024 are Announced Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 08/08/2024 - 00:00

The R&D 100 Awards are a renowned worldwide science and innovation competition celebrated their 62nd year in 2024. Entries were received from 16 different countries, and RASEI Fellow Steven Spurgeon led one of the winning teams.

The Autonomous Electron Microscope (AutoEM) received the 2024 R&D 100 award! AutoEM is the result of nearly 7 years of hard work by a dedicated team of scientists, including Steven R. Spurgeon (NREL, formerly PNNL), Matthew Olszta, Sarah Akers, Kevin Fiedler, Derek Hopkins, Jacob Haag, Kayla Yano, Christina Doty, and Marjolein Oostrom (PNNL).

AutoEM embeds human-like reasoning into the control of electron microscopes, which are a cornerstone of the study of materials and chemical systems. Using AutoEM researchers can conduct reproducible, high-speed experimentation nearly 1000x faster than before. We’re excited for the possibilities that AutoEM will unlock, as well as ongoing commercialization efforts with JEOL-IDES, one of the world’s largest analytical instrumentation manufacturers.

The R&D 100 Awards, often referred to as the "Oscars of Innovation," are prestigious annual awards recognizing the 100 most technologically significant products, processes, materials, or software introduced to the market in the previous year. The awards, established in 1963, are open to submissions from around the world and are judged by a panel of experts based on technical significance, uniqueness, and usefulness. Winning an R&D 100 Award is a mark of excellence for innovators and their organizations, signifying the development of groundbreaking and commercially promising technologies.

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Improved reverse bias stability in p–i–n perovskite solar cells with optimized hole transport materials and less reactive electrodes

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Aug 2024 06:00:00 +0000

Improved reverse bias stability in p–i–n perovskite solar cells with optimized hole transport materials and less reactive electrodes Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 08/07/2024 - 00:00

NATURE ENERGY, 2024

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Stronger Together: Coupling Excitons to Polaritons for Better Solar Cells and Higher Intensity LEDs

Anonymous — Tue, 06 Aug 2024 06:00:00 +0000

Stronger Together: Coupling Excitons to Polaritons for Better Solar Cells and Higher Intensity LEDs Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 08/06/2024 - 00:00

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