Advanced materials and electrochemical tools for energy production and conversion

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This research program is aimed to develop new materials for energy production and conversion, and advanced techniques for materials characterization under extreme conditions. The growing number of new technologies for energy production, waste treatment and environmentally-friendly chemistry relying on the use of supercritical fluids motivates this program. We are particularly interested in hydrogen production by splitting of water, since it can represent an alternative for replacing fossil fuels thereby contributing to mitigate the negative impact of greenhouse gases on climate change. This proposal involves the design, construction and characterization of a new electrochemical flow cell and chemical sensors for hydrothermal research. These tools will provide valuable information on electrode kinetic processes under near-critical and supercritical water conditions. The information is relevant to hydrogen cogeneration, since the production of hydrogen by thermochemical cycles in Canada is strongly dependent on the development of the Generation IV Supercritical Water-Cooled Reactor (SCWR). Our research program, based in our expertise in studies and applications of supercritical fluids, will investigate new approaches for the synthesis of nanostructured materials for high temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells using supercritical fluid aided methods. This proposal has the potential to open the door to challenging interdisciplinary projects in physical chemistry and materials science for training HQP. We expect that results from our research program will have a significant impact on chemistry, electrochemistry, aqueous solution chemistry, and new energy developments.