Energy Materials-Discovery, Characterisation and Application

圣安德鲁斯集团致力于广泛的能源相关问题，如基础电化学和固态化学研究、新的和改进的燃料电池技术的开发、提供新的能源解决方案以及在设备应用中整合新的概念。这项研究旨在开发高温电化学技术，以实现新能源框架的有效部署。我们寻求优化当前的燃料电池技术，提高耐用性和稳定性，并降低制造成本，以使其能够广泛引入。一个主要的重点是开发新的阳极配方，以实现更复杂燃料的高效利用，从天然气和液化石油气到沼气，再到液体生物燃料和生物质。燃料电池技术是生物质利用的一个特别重要的推动因素，在相当小的单元尺寸下提供高转换效率，对新的分布式能源经济至关重要。该小组非常成功地实现了目前举行的平台赠款的拟议研究目标，特别突出的是纳米催化剂的原位释放、浸渍电极的纳米结构成熟、高性能直接碳燃料电池性能和新的红色光催化剂。该平台的运营还使我们能够与欧盟，特别是工业资金进行强有力的接触。工作人员发展是平台赠款方案的重要组成部分，所有调查人员和研究人员在过去四年中都取得了显着的职业进步。那些从事商业敏感项目的博士后能够通过部分平台支持保持他们的出版产出，关键技能研究人员获得了合同的稳定性。研究人员已经转向了行业和学术约会。在这次更新中，我们希望引进周武宗教授，以提高我们在过渡电子显微镜方面的能力。我们打算在现有平台上取得的成果基础上，发展新的和令人兴奋的研究线索。将特别强调在业务相关条件下发展材料加工研究接口的能力。研究重点将涉及通过可逆燃料电池和合成燃料生产的能量储存、电极界面的纳米工程、开发新的功能材料和现场研究。平台资助为集团提供了宝贵的凝聚力，它提供了出色的职业稳定性，允许跟踪令人兴奋的发展，并为我们的研究人员在强烈的多学科环境中遇到广泛的高度重要的当前研究提供了极好的机会。将鼓励研究人员探索新的方向，并寻求与世界各地的领先研究人员和机构合作的机会。为了实现这一点，我们建议定期举办讲习班，并提供便利对外部实验室进行考察访问的手段。通过这两种机制，研究人员将能够扩展他们的技术技能并发展独立的合作网络。

The St Andrews group addresses a wide range of energy related issues such as fundamental electrochemical and solid state chemical studies, development of new and improved fuel cell technologies, providing new energy solutions and integrating new concepts in device application. This research seeks to develop high temperature electrochemical technologies to enable the efficient deployment of new energy frameworks. We seek to optimise current fuel cell technology improving durability and stability and reducing cost of manufacture to enable widespread introduction. A major focus is developing new anode formulations to enable efficient utilisation of more complex fuels, ranging from natural gas and LPG through biogas to liquid biofuels and biomass. Fuel cell technology is a particularly important enabler for biomass utilisation offering high efficiencies of conversion in fairly small unit sizes and is essential to new distributed energy economies. The group has been very successful in addressing the proposed research objectives of the currently held Platform grant Particular highlights are insitu exolution of nanocatalysts, nanostructural ripening of impregnated electrodes, high performance direct carbon fuel cell performance and a new red photocatalyst. The operation of the Platform also enabled us to strongly engage with EU and especially industrial funding. Staff development is an important part of the Platform grant programme and all of the Investigators and researchers have advanced their careers significantly during the last 4 years. Those postdocs working on commercially sensitive projects were able to maintain their publication output via partial platform support and key skill researchers were given stability of contract. Researchers have moved to both industry and academic appointments. In the renewal we wish to bring in Prof Wuzong Zhou to enhance our capability in transition Electron Microscopy in particular.We intend to build upon our achievements in the current platform and to develop new and exciting strands of research. Particular emphasis will be placed upon developing capability in materials processing study interfaces under operational relevant conditions. Research priorities will relate to energy storage through reversible fuel cells and synthetic fuel production, nanoengineering of electrode interfaces, developing new functional materials and in situ studies.The platform grant provides an invaluable cohesive element to the group, it gives excellent career stability, allows exciting developments to be followed and provides excellent opportunities for our researchers to encounter a wide range of highly important current research in a strongly multidisciplinary environment. Researchers will be encouraged to explore new directions and to seek collaboration opportunities with leading researchers and facilities worldwide. To enable this we propose to run regular workshops and provide means to facilitate study visits to external laboratories. Through both of these mechanisms researchers will be able to extend their technical skills and develop independent collaborative networks.