Co-Continuous Hierarchial Porous Materials for Electrochemical Storage and Gas Separation Applications

当今的许多高性能材料都需要执行多种功能，才能最有效地应用于各种反应性运输应用，如二氧化碳捕集的吸附剂、电池或低温燃料电池的电极、水处理的膜或生物医学应用的抗菌剂。所需的材料系统通常是放置在整个系统(分层)特定位置的不同材料(异质)的组合，具有受控的气孔、通道和活性颗粒。传统上，这种材料是为主要功能而设计的，例如运输效率，而只考虑其他性能，如密度或强度。通过结合严格的实验方法，将开发出一种新的设计方法，该方法同时考虑材料属性以及制造和结构方面，允许针对特定应用全面调整材料系统的属性。本项目开发的设计框架不是针对一种材料的，因此将对能源系统中使用的许多复杂材料系统具有深远的应用。 为了实现反应性传输过程中多孔多相分层材料设计的范式转变，Trifkovic博士将采用她的团队最近开创的新类别的软材料。材料可以包括无机和/或有机支架，其设计具有多个层次和分布的孔隙率、曲折度和颗粒大小，可以用活性中心装饰，通常是纳米级的无机化合物。活性部位可在脚手架“建造”期间或之后并入。将实施一种严格的多尺度实验方法来分析材料的性质-结构关系，以确定合适的支架和活性场地材料。 拟议的计划旨在创新分层结构材料的制造工艺，这种工艺有可能克服多个部门的传质限制，并彻底改变我们制造这些材料的方式。这一平台与国家在能源、温室气体减排以及环境和气候适应方面的优先事项保持一致。减少二氧化碳排放一直是艾伯塔省和加拿大面临的一个持续挑战。加拿大政府最近宣布了一项新的挑战，旨在加快电池创新，以更好地定位该国在全球市场上的地位。通过该计划开发的新材料将加速这些发展，并帮助加拿大成为二氧化碳捕获和高效能源储存和转换领域的全球领先者。

Many of today's high performance materials are required to perform multiple functions to be most effective for a variety of reactive transport applications such as, adsorbents for carbon dioxide capture, electrodes for batteries or low temperature fuel cells, membranes for water treatment or anti-bacterial agents for biomedical applications. The required material systems are often combinations of different materials (heterogeneous) placed at specific locations throughout the system (hierarchical) with controlled pores, channels and active particles. Traditionally such a material is designed for a primary function, such as transport efficiency, with only secondary consideration of other properties such as density or strength. By coupling rigorous experimental methods, a new design approach will be developed that considers both the material properties along with fabrication and structural aspects allowing for the comprehensive tailoring of properties for the materials system for a specific application. The design framework developed in this project is not specific for one material so will have far reaching applications for many complex materials systems for use in energy systems. To enable a paradigm shift in the design of porous heterogeneous hierarchical materials for reactive transport processes, Dr. Trifkovic will incorporate the new class of soft materials recently pioneered in her group. The materials can comprise inorganic and/or organic scaffold designed with multiple levels and distributions of porosities, tortuosities and particle sizes, which can be decorated with active sites, often nanoscale inorganic compounds. The active sites can be incorporated during or after "construction" of the scaffold. A rigorous multi-scale experimental approach will be implemented for analysis of property-structure relationships for materials identification of appropriate scaffold and active site materials. The proposed program aims at innovative process for the manufacturing of hierarchically structured materials which have a potential to overcome mass transfer limitations in multiple sectors and revolutionize the way we fabricate these materials. This platform aligns with the national priorities in energy green-house gas mitigation and Environment and Climate Adaptation. CO2 reduction has been an ongoing challenge for the province of Alberta and Canada. The Canadian government has recently announced a new challenge aimed at accelerating battery innovation to better position the country in the global market. The new materials developed through this program will accelerate these developments and help position Canada as a global leader in CO2 capture and efficient energy storage and conversion sector.