Atomically thin layers for energy harvesting and storage

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Over the next 20 years the fuel mix for passenger vehicles will shift dramatically to supportelectrification. Significant variation is already evident in different countries' approach to thischallenge including for example battery technologies (in the UK) or hydrogen fuel cells (inGermany). However, in order to achieve this transition, fabrication and characterisation of newmaterials and devices is fundamentally important. The overall aim of this project is to explore thepotential for transparent oxide materials as key enabling materials for energy conversion andstorage. For example, metal oxides can play the role of anode or cathode in electrochemicalenergy storage devices or they can act as buffer layers in novel thin film solar cell. They thereforeexert a strong influence on performance and have offer the potential for disruptive innovationwhen fabricated at the nanometre scale. In order to achieve the project aim, two main fabricationapproaches will be taken: (1) high precision atomic layer deposition and (2) solution processing.The former offers the potential to create conformal oxide layers on nanostructures and ultra-highquality interfaces. The latter can be done under ambient laboratory conditions and is naturallysuited to scaling up. In addition to fabricating and characterising nanostructured oxide layers, theproject offers the opportunity to combine these layers to create novel semiconductorheterostructures which could for example be used to store hydrogen which in the long term, hasthe potential to emerge as a material energy carrier for transportation. There is a furtheropportunity within the project to characterise the performance of energy devices fabricated fromthese heterostructures during their operation. The project involves industrial input and also offersthe possibility to visit international research laboratories working in this area.