Evaluating organic mixed-conductor materials for sustainable electrochemical energy storage

评估可持续电化学储能的有机混合导体材料

• 批准号: 2759202
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Imperial College London
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2022 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2759202
• 关键词: Evaluating; organic; mixed; conductor; materials

Realising the full potential of renewable electricity resources will require new, sustainable and high-performance materials for electrochemical energy storage in batteries and supercapacitors. Organic electron- and ion-transporting materials are interesting candidates for both electrodes and electrolytes because of their abundance, low cost, low toxicity, mechanical properties and the potential ease of both manufacture and recycling [1]. Conjugated polymers are particularly attractive for use as electrodes in battery or supercapacitor devices. They charge and discharge rapidly, are stable over many cycles and work with non-toxic salt-water electrolytes [2], although their specific capacity is still limited [3]. Their properties can be tuned via chemical design, once their operational mechanisms are properly understood. Polymer-based electrode materials would thus enable a completely new electrochemical storage technology of low environmental impact. In this project we aim to improve the electrochemical storage properties of conjugated polymer-based electrodes by developing a deeper understanding of the interactions between ions, electrons and molecules and of the charging process at a microscopic level and using these ideas to develop new material designs. We will study the ion transport and charging characteristics, specific capacity, redox stability and microstructure of polymer electrodes based on different materials using electrochemical and spectroscopic methods; and seek to relate the observations to chemical structure and energetics. These results will help to identify suitable electrode materials and test them within simple battery devices. The student will have the opportunity to use computational methods (possibly including device models, electronic structure and molecular dynamics) to interpret experimental measurements.The key questions are:- What ultimately limits the capacity of a conjugated polymer electrode?- How does chemical structure and influence operational stability?- What are the chemical design rules for higher performing materials and device architectures? The ultimate goal of this research is to contribute to global climate stabilisation efforts, by exploring the options for storage and use of renewable energy.

意识到可再生电力资源的全部潜力将需要新的，可持续和高性能的材料，以在电池和超级电容器中进行电化学能源存储。有机电子和离子传输材料是电极和电解质的有趣候选物，因为它们的丰度，低成本，低毒性，机械性能以及制造和回收利用的潜在便利性[1]。共轭聚合物在电池或超级电容器设备中用作电极特别有吸引力。它们迅速充电和排放量在许多周期上是稳定的，并且使用无毒的盐水电解质[2]，尽管它们的特定能力仍然受到限制[3]。一旦正确理解其操作机制，就可以通过化学设计调整它们的性能。因此，基于聚合物的电极材料将使环境影响低的全新电化学存储技术。在这个项目中，我们旨在通过对离子，电子和分子之间的相互作用以及在显微镜水平上的充电过程进行更深入的了解，并使用这些思想来开发新的材料设计，从而提高基于共轭聚合物电极的电化学存储特性。我们将使用电化学和光谱方法研究基于不同材料的聚合物电极的离子传输和充电特性，特定能力，氧化还原稳定性和微观结构；并寻求将观察结果与化学结构和能量学联系起来。这些结果将有助于识别合适的电极材料并在简单的电池设备中进行测试。学生将有机会使用计算方法（可能包括设备模型，电子结构和分子动力学）来解释实验测量。关键问题是： - 什么最终限制了共轭聚合物电极的能力？ - 化学结构和如何影响操作稳定性？ - 高级性能材料和设备的化学设计规则是什么？这项研究的最终目标是通过探索可再生能源的储存和使用选择来为全球气候稳定工作做出贡献。