Development and characterization of materials for electrochemical energy storage

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Public awareness of global climate change resulting from green house gas emission has increased significantly in recent years. Much effort has been spent on promoting a low carbon economy. High efficiency electrical energy storage (EES) devices are a key component in reaching this goal. EES devices are the media used to store chemical or physical energy that can be later converted back to electricity. EES technologies are important as they have the potential to facilitate large-scale deployment of various renewable electricity generation sources; e.g., in electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs). EES device development and commercialization are limited by a number of materials engineering issues related to the fabrication, operation and long term reliability of these devices. All these issues are surface and interface related, requiring an in-depth understanding of the interactions among the various materials and any reactions that occur at the relevant surfaces. The main focus of the proposed research is the development and characterization of novel materials for EES applications. The proposed work will involve two focus areas: the development of novel electrode materials for metal-air (e.g., Zn-air) batteries and long term microstructural changes in the anode component of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs).