Energy Storage Materials: Discovery and Electrochemistry

电化学能量存储从未像今天这样重要。发展可行的，长期的解决方案，将满足全球能源需求仍然是科学家面临的最关键的挑战之一？C社区 随着能源成本和可持续性问题的不断增加，国际上对能源储存（及其合作伙伴能源转换）的关注迅速增长。 在我们的NSERC发现资助研究过程中，我们取得了突破性的发现，改变了电化学家对储能的看法。我们在这一领域的初步工作发表在2009年的《自然材料》杂志上，并描述了在有限尺寸中进行能量存储的“第一次”。 这一发现启动了锂硫电池领域，此后该领域呈指数级增长。 此外，这一发现有助于为锂（和钠）氧电池的发展指明方向，并且沿着钠离子电化学已成为“超越锂离子电池”的新方法的基础。** 在本提案中，我们的目标是进一步发展这些新技术，将纳米化学/技术和基础固态化学/离子学相结合，这是实现逐步变革所必需的。 突破所基于的概念的扩展将通过系统修改进行探索，以将非质子Li-S化学应用于更可持续的水性介质。 在这里，我们计划既获得更深入的了解电化学，以及扩大我们的方法的反应性和实用性的范围。 这将与新的固态离子导体（SSICs）的基本发现相结合，作为保护性的无机-有机膜，也将用于使用新定制的电催化剂的水氧电化学研究。 此外，SSIC的努力将成为全固态锂离子和钠离子电池的尖端事业的平台，其中实现高离子传导和控制界面是关键。 我们的方法将编织创新的材料化学发现与复杂的操作技术，以探测工作的电化学电池。 新型Li和Na SSIC材料将使用我们重要的固态合成工具库开发，沿着计算和物理化学研究，以阐明控制离子迁移率的重要因素。 这些离子导体将与新的正钠离子电极材料连接，这些材料将在项目过程中发现。 通过这种方式，我们希望从根本上发现新的、成本更低的、环保的储能解决方案。 这些发展可以直接影响基础科学，也会导致实际的创新。

Electrochemical energy storage has never been more important than today. The development of viable, long-term solutions that will meet global energy needs remains one of the most critical challenges facing the scienti?c community. Amid burgeoning energy costs and sustainability concerns, international focus on energy storage (and its partner energy conversion) has rapidly gained momentum. During the course of our NSERC discovery grant research, we have made a breakthrough discovery that is changing the way electrochemists think about energy storage. Our initial work in this area was reported in Nature Materials, 2009 and described "a first" for energy storage in confined dimensions. This finding kick-started the field of lithium-sulfur batteries that has increased exponentially ever since. Moreover, this discovery helped point the way to developments in Li (and Na)-oxygen batteries, and along with Na-ion electrochemistry has become the foundation for new approaches to "beyond Li-ion batteries". ******In this proposal we target the further development of these new technologies with a combination of nanochemistry/technology and fundamental solid state chemistry/ionics, necessary to bring about step-changes. Extension of the concepts upon which the breakthrough is based will be explored with system modifications for taking aprotic Li-S chemistry to a more sustainable aqueous medium. Here we plan to both garner a deeper understanding of the electrochemistry as well as expand the range of reactivity and utility of our approach. This will be coupled with fundamental discovery of new solid state ion conductors (SSICs) to serve as protective inorganic-organic membranes which will also be utilized for studies of aqueous oxygen electrochemistry using newly tailored electrocatalysts. The efforts in SSICs will furthermore serve as the platform for a cutting-edge undertaking in all-solid state Li and Na-ion batteries, where achieving high ionic conduction and controlling interfaces are key. Our approach will weave innovative materials chemistry discovery with sophisticated operando techniques to probe working electrochemical cells. Novel Li and Na SSIC materials will be developed using our significant arsenal of solid state synthesis tools, along with computational and physico-chemical studies to elucidate the important factors that govern ion mobility. These ion conductors will be interfaced with new positive Na-ion electrode materials that will be discovered through the course of the project. In this fashion, we hope to uncover fundamentally new yet lower cost, environmentally friendly energy storage solutions. Such developments could impact directly on fundamental science and also lead to practical innovations.