Multifunctional "White Graphene" for Solid-State Energy Storage Systems

在国际上，加拿大几十年来在清洁能源转换和储存技术方面一直处于领先地位。2014年，加拿大在新的国内清洁能源储存项目投资方面排名世界第六。在这方面，诸如锂离子电池（LIB）和超级电容器之类的电化学能量存储系统作为高效且污染较少的电力存储系统受到认真考虑。它们的潜在应用是在电动车辆和移动的小型化电子设备中。然而，为了它们的广泛使用和商业化，市场需要固态和灵活的设计，以提高它们的能量/功率密度和安全性。这些技术障碍与这些系统的主要隔室的结构有关，包括不安全且大量的液体电解质。因此，这项为期5年的研究的主要目标是开发基于六方氮化硼（h-BN）纳米结构的固态多功能电解质膜，具有高性能和耐用性。H-BN被称为“白色石墨烯”，具有与石墨烯相似的晶体结构，因其相对于石墨烯具有明显的物理和化学优势，引起了科学界的极大关注。具体而言，由于具有永久的电绝缘性质，h-BN具有很强的潜力，可以作为可靠的固态电解质在LIB和超级电容器中进行操作和应用，并生产具有高能量和功率密度的安全，全固态清洁能源存储系统。预计拟议研究的结果将提供所需的突破，使固态储能系统通过性能和耐久性的改进而成为商业上可行的技术。拟议研究的成功和高素质人才（HQP）的培训将为加拿大能源和电子行业的商业活动和企业所需的电化学工程和材料科学领域提供急需的技术和专业知识。这将加强专门从事清洁能源的加拿大公司在竞争激烈的全球市场中的地位，并有助于发展以知识为基础的加拿大经济。通过这种方式，加拿大将保持其在两项新兴技术（即，纳米技术和清洁能源）在一个快节奏的行业。

Internationally, Canada has held a significant lead in clean energy conversion and storage technologies for decades. In 2014, Canada ranked sixth in the world for investment in new domestic clean energy storage projects. In this regard, electrochemical energy storage systems such as Li-ion batteries (LIBs) and supercapacitors are under serious consideration as efficient and less polluting power-storage systems. Their potential applications are in electric vehicles and mobile miniaturized electronic devices. However, for their widespread utilization and commercialization, markets demand a solid-state and flexible design with an enhancement of their energy/power density and safety. These technical barriers are associated with the structure of the main compartments of these systems, including unsafe and voluminous liquid electrolytes. Thus, the main goal for this 5-year proposed research is to develop solid-state, multifunctional electrolyte membranes based on hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) nanostructures with high performance and durability. H-BN, known as “white graphene”, has a similar crystal structure to graphene and has attracted a great deal of attention from the scientific community because of its distinct physical and chemical advantages over graphene. Specifically, due to having a permanent electrically insulating nature, h-BN has a strong potential to be manipulated and applied in LIBs and supercapacitors as a reliable solid-state electrolyte and produce safe, fully solid-state clean-energy storage systems with high energy and power densities.******It is expected that the results of the proposed research will provide the breakthrough needed to make solid-state energy storage systems commercially viable technologies through performance and durability improvements. The success of the proposed research and the training of highly qualified personnel (HQP) will contribute highly needed technology and expertise to the fields of electrochemical engineering and materials science, required for the business activities and enterprises of energy and electronics industries in Canada. This will strengthen the position of Canadian companies specializing in clean energy within a competitive global market and contribute to the development of a knowledge-based Canadian economy. In this way, Canada will maintain its place as an international leader in the development of two emerging technologies (i.e., nanotechnology and clean energy) within a fast-paced industry.