Advanced environmental and energy material processing

拟议的研究计划旨在加速“先进的环境和能源材料加工”领域的发现，最终目标是开发新一代，但具有成本效益和可扩展性的环境和光电化学能量转换和存储技术。这是通过水溶液工艺工程和纳米材料的创新整合来实现的。在拟议的研究计划中有两个重点。第一个重点是开发全新的环境技术，通过“核-壳”或多功能（吸附-还原-光催化）纳米复合结构的工程设计，从工业废水中固定或消除有毒污染物（如As和Se）。这种新的环境技术将使我们的自然资源的可持续开发，并使加拿大成为世界领先的清洁资源开采/加工实践和出口创新。该计划的第二个重点是制造（水性合成和电泳沉积）纳米结构中孔电极和光催化剂，用于锂离子储能或水消毒/分解（制氢）应用。锂离子电池（LIB）是各种便携式电子产品爆炸性增长的背后-2016年是LIB商业化25周年，现在它们被要求为我们的社会向交通电气化（EV）和太阳能衍生电力使用和存储的转变提供动力。这代表了巨大的增长潜力，因此能源材料加工领域的研究具有高度的战略意义，与国际前沿研究方向保持一致。该计划将为HQP提供先进材料加工培训的沃土，使他们成为明天的创新者。纳米结构材料作为光转换和锂离子电池存储系统中的电极提供了上级功能，但需要进一步改进其性能和制造。为此，拟议的计划将研究新的高能量和高功率阴极材料，如LiCoPO 4和石墨烯复合材料，一方面用于以较低的成本建造具有较长行驶里程的EV LIB;另一方面，探索全面发展（UV-Vis-NIR）光谱TiO 2-Cu 2 ZnSnS 4（CZTS）光催化剂由丰富和非有毒元素，可以在水净化或通过水的光分解产生氢中找到应用。因此，该计划侧重于水/环境保护和绿色能源技术，这是我们可持续未来的核心。

The proposed research program aims to accelerate discovery in the area of “advanced environmental and energy material processing” with the ultimate goal of developing new generation, but cost-effective and scalable, environmental and photo-electrochemical energy conversion and storage technologies. This is approached via the innovative integration of aqueous solution process engineering and nanomaterials. There are two thrusts in the proposed research program. The first thrust is the development of altogether new environmental technologies for the immobilization or elimination of toxic pollutants (e.g. As and Se) from industrial effluents via the engineering of “core-shell” or multi-functional (adsorptive-reductive-photocatalytic) nanocomposite structures. Such novel environmental technology will enable the sustainable exploitation of our natural resources and position Canada as world leader in clean resource extraction/processing practices and exportable innovations. The second thrust of this program is focusing on fabrication (aqueous synthesis and electrophoretic deposition) of nanostructured mesoporous electrodes and photocatalysts for lithium-ion energy storage or water disinfection/splitting (hydrogen generation) applications. Li-ion batteries (LIBs) that are behind the explosive proliferation of all kind of portable electronics-2016 marks 25 years since the commercialization of LIBs, they are now called to power our shift as society towards electrification of transportation (EV) and solar energy-derived electricity use and storage. This represents a tremendous growth potential and as such research in this area of energy material processing is highly strategic, well aligned with international cutting edge research directions. The proposed program will provide a fertile ground for training HQP in advanced material processing enabling them to become tomorrow's innovators. Nanostructured materials offer superior functionalities as electrodes in photo-conversion and Li-ion battery storage systems but further improvements both in their performance and fabrication are needed. To this end the proposed program among other will investigate new high-energy and -power cathode materials, such as LiCoPO4 and graphene composites on one hand for building EV LIBs with longer driving range at lower cost; and on the other explore the development of full (UV-Vis-NIR) spectrum TiO2-Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) photocatalysts made from abundant and non-toxic elements that could find applications in water purification or in producing hydrogen via photo-splitting of water. As such the program focuses on water/environment protection and green energy technologies that are at the heart of our sustainable future.