Global energy demands are expected to increase by about one-third between 2014 and 2040 and will surely be met from a combination of wind, solar, and among other renewable sources. The shift away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energies will ensure a clean and sustainable future. The main issue...
Electrochemical cell devices are increasingly being sought for energy conversion and storage applications due to their high efficiencies and their potential for operating free of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Solid Acid Electrochemical Cells (SAECs), which most commonly employ CsH2PO4 (CDP) as the electrolyte component, are uniquely suited to meet the...
Thermoelectric materials are of particular interest in a variety of fields because of their ability to directly convert heat to electricity (and vice versa), however, they struggle to gain widespread adoption because of their low efficiency. A common strategy in the field of thermoelectricity is to introduce material defects into...
There is considerable technical interest in the improvement of battery technology, as it would allow for the enhancement and realization of many different applications, including the continued miniaturization of portable computational devices, plug-in electric vehicles, and intermittent power storage. Lithium metal represents a theoretical limit on the anode energy density...
Organic solar cells (OSC) are a next generation solar energy technology that offers the advantages of scalable fabrication, light weight, flexibility, and earth-abundant starting materials. Despite tremendous advances in OSC power conversion efficiency (PCE) over the last decade, active layer material selection and optimization is still largely empirical. In order...
This dissertation presents a comprehensive study of thin-film LiMn2O4 (LMO) cathodes applied in lithium ion batteries (LIBs). The primary aim was to establish fundamental understanding of the relationship between interfacial LMO chemistry/electrochemistry and its detrimental drawback, i.e. fast capacity fade over long term cycling, and then develop effective mitigation methods....
Unlike other products or services, electricity cannot be easily stored, and its delivery cannot be delayed by keeping customers in queues. The electricity supply has to be instantly available to serve a continuously varying demand. Traditionally, electric utilities would match their supply to the demand by adjusting the production output...
Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) are a low-emission, efficient and fuel flexible energy conversion devices, which have been extensively applied in electricity generation systems. Moreover, it can also be operated in electrolysis mode as Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cell (SOEC) or Reversible Solid Oxide Cell (ReSOC) for intermittent renewable energy storage....
Rapid changes in global climate are pushing nations to reduce CO2 emissions and adopt clean energy technologies for renewable energy generation and storage. As wind and solar are implemented worldwide, a commensurate response in energy storage will need to be installed to meet fluctuations in peak energy demands and generation...