Public Research Seminar by Sustainable Energy and Environment Thrust - Transition-Metal Based Nanomaterials for Electrochemical Energy Storage and Conversion

Electrochemical energy storage conversion are important techniques in view of the global energy crisis. My research focuses on developing transition-metal based nanomaterials for electrochemical energy storage and conversion applications, such as electrode materials for supercapacitor and electrocatalysts for water splitting and hydrogen fuel cell. Transition-metal compounds, especially those in the first row (e.g., Fe, Ni, Co and Mn) have been proved to possess high electrochemical and catalytic activities, by both theoretical calculations and experiments. At nanoscale or even atomic scale, the fine tune in material’s morphology, composition and size could have a significant impact on its electrochemical or electrocatalytic activities. My research focuses on studying the formation mechanism of porous structures or nanoparticles of transition-metal based materials. Through novel design and precise control of the material’s morphology and nanostructure at nanoscale, the material’s surface area, electrical conductivity, and air-stability could be largely increased. The strategies I employed include: 1) forming hybrid with carbon to improve the electrical conductivity of transition-metal oxides; 2) soft-template based guided assembly to obtain highly ordered porous nanostructure; 3) using metal-organic framework’s secondary building unit as nano-reactor to derive transition metal nitride nanoparticles on carbon framework.