SNM: High-Throughput Electrospinning of Photocatalytic Mats for Energy Harvesting

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Electrospinning is a nanomanufacturing process that enables the single step processing of self-supported, three-dimensional, and/or hierarchical networks of nanofibers, typically of polymers and their composites. This process has been exploited in recent years for the synthesis of nanoscale ceramics. However, the amount and quality of the electrospun mats produced are still close to a laboratory-scale. The focus of this award is to advance ceramic nanofiber electrospinning to ensure high process yield, process and product repeatability and reproducibility, along with optimized quality control. The anticipated result is a commercially-viable, high-throughput, nanomanufacturing process that produces functional nano-ceramics in large volumes and at a low cost. Processing of advanced photocatalysts for solar energy conversion to hydrogen fuel through water splitting is one of the targeted applications for the electrospun oxides addressed by this award. There are multiple anticipated benefits to the US economy and the welfare of the society, in terms of material availability and it's use in harvesting energy from the sun. This multidisciplinary project brings together expertise in materials manufacturing, nanomaterials synthesis, electrochemistry, mechanical engineering, and computational modeling. This award will add to the skilled workforce that will guide the growth of new industries for nanomaterials manufacturing based on ceramic electrospinning, thus creating more jobs. This award addresses fundamental issues related to the mechanism of formation of large-scale 3D mats, comprised of self-supported, high surface area, ceramic oxide nanostructures. It spans several disciplines, and it is the joint effort between four collaborators with complementary expertise in nanofibrous materials processing, structural and mechanical property characterization and modeling, and photocatalytic property assessment. The structural features of the as-spun and calcined nanofibrous mats will be modeled to enable the fine-tuning of their processing conditions and to optimize the final design of the high-throughput process. The measurement of the mechanical properties of the electrospun mats will determine how they will perform as photocatalytic blankets. Assessment of the photoelectrochemical properties of the mats will guide their tailored synthesis. The methods and techniques employed in this work are expected to revolutionize industrial processes for the nanomanufacturing of self-supported / non-dispersed ceramic nanofibrous mats for energy-related applications.This project is jointly funded by the Engineering Directorate and the Division of Materials Research in the Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate.