
Nanomaterials for Energy Storage and Conversion
The Nanomaterials for Energy Storage and Conversion group conducts both fundamental and application-oriented research on new nanomaterials and nanostructures that can be used for energy storage and conversion. Particular emphasis is at the moment placed on the preparation of hollow, porous nanostructures and ordered nanowire/nanotube arrays of various inorganic materials, which not only possess large surface to volume ratios but also facilitate the transportation of electrolytes/ions/charge carriers. Comprehensive structural/compositional characterization in conjunction with studies of photoelectric, electrochemical and catalytic properties are carried out in order to elucidate the structure-property relation, to get a fundamental understanding about the underlying physics and chemistry in energy storage and conversion processes, and in turn to help materials design and optimization. Our research activities are primarily focused on the following areas:
Research lines:
- Advanced catalytic materials for electrochemical energy conversion
- Solar fuel production
- Advanced electrode materials for rechargeable batteries and supercapacitors
Electrocatalysis. The group is committed to developing Pt-free electrocatalysts for use in hydrogen/oxygen evolution, oxygen reduction, and small molecule oxidation reactions.
Solar fuel production. Research efforts are devoted to: 1) Nanoatructured photocathodes and photoanodes; 2) Coupling of semiconductor photoelectrodes with HER or OER catalysts; 3) Improving lifetime of photoelectrodes.
Energy storage. The group is working on 1) Fabrication of hybrid/composite nanostructures; 2) Large-scale synthesis of porous/hollow nanostructures for use as electrode materials in Li-ion/Na-ion batteries and supercapacitors; 3) Flexible energy storage devices.
Projects
Publications
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Boosting acidic water oxidation performance by constructing arrays-like nanoporous IrxRu1-xO2 with abundant atomic steps
NANO RESEARCH, 2022Bifunctional atomically dispersed ruthenium electrocatalysts for efficient bipolar membrane water electrolysis_
Inorganic Chemistry Frontiers, 2022Lithium and sodium storage performance of tin oxyphosphate anode materials
APPLIED SURFACE SCIENCE, 2022 -
Easy preparation of multifunctional ternary PdNiP/C catalysts toward enhanced small organic molecule electro-oxidation and hydrogen evolution reactions
JOURNAL OF ENERGY CHEMISTRY, 2021Atomic-Step Enriched Ruthenium-Iridium Nanocrystals Anchored Homogeneously on MOF-Derived Support for Efficient and Stable Oxygen Evolution in Acidic and Neutral Media
ACS CATALYSIS, 2021Dual-phase CoP-CoTe2 nanowires as an efficient bifunctional electrocatalyst for bipolar membrane-assisted acid-alkaline water splitting
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL, 2021Efficient hydrogen production by saline water electrolysis at high current densities without the interfering chlorine evolution
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY A, 2021Exceptional lithium storage performance achieved by iron-based nanostructures upon extended high-rate cycling
JOURNAL OF ALLOYS AND COMPOUNDS, 2021Light-driven oxygen evolution from water oxidation with immobilised TiO2 engineered for high performance
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, 2021Multifunctional Noble Metal Phosphide Electrocatalysts for Organic Molecule Electro-Oxidation
ACS APPLIED ENERGY MATERIALS, 2021Rhodium single-atom catalysts with enhanced electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution performance
NEW JOURNAL OF CHEMISTRY, 2021Lithium-copper alloy embedded in 3D porous copper foam with enhanced electrochemical performance toward lithium metal batteries
MATERIALS TODAY ENERGY, 2021Platinum group metal free nano-catalysts for proton exchange membrane water electrolysis
CURRENT OPINION IN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, 2021Novel Quasi-Liquid K-Na Alloy as a Promising Dendrite-Free Anode for Rechargeable Potassium Metal Batteries
ADVANCED SCIENCE, 2021Amorphous phosphatized ruthenium-iron bimetallic nanoclusters with Pt-like activity for hydrogen evolution reaction
APPLIED CATALYSIS B-ENVIRONMENTAL, 2021Understanding Oxygen Bubble-Triggered Exfoliation of Graphite Toward the Low-Defect Graphene
ADVANCED MATERIALS INTERFACES, 2021 -
Decoding of Oxygen Network Distortion in a Layered High-Rate Anode by In Situ Investigation of a Single Microelectrode
ACS NANO, 2020Discovery of Real-Space Topological Ferroelectricity in Metallic Transition Metal Phosphides
ADVANCED MATERIALS, 2020Strategies for Semiconductor/Electrocatalyst Coupling toward Solar-Driven Water Splitting
ADVANCED SCIENCE, 2020Bifunctional Porous Cobalt Phosphide Foam for High-Current-Density Alkaline Water Electrolysis with 4000-h Long Stability
ACS SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY & ENGINEERING, 2020Decoding of Oxygen Network Distortion in a Layered High-Rate Anode by In Situ Investigation of a Single Microelectrode
ACS NANO, 2020Mille-Crepe-like Metal Phosphide Nanocrystals/Carbon Nanotube Film Composites as High-Capacitance Negative Electrodes in Asymmetric Supercapacitors
ACS APPLIED ENERGY MATERIALS, 2020Stable overall water splitting in an asymmetric acid/alkaline electrolyzer comprising a bipolar membrane sandwiched by bifunctional cobalt nickel phosphide nanowire electrodes
Carbon Energy 2020, 2, 646. , 2020Ultrafine oxygen-defective iridium oxide nanoclusters for efficient and durable water oxidation at high current densities in acidic media
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY A, 2020Ultrafine-Grained Porous Ir-Based Catalysts for High-Performance Overall Water Splitting in Acidic Media
ACS APPLIED ENERGY MATERIALS, 2020 -
High-Performance Flexible Solid-State Asymmetric Supercapacitors Based on Bimetallic Transition Metal Phosphide Nanocrystals
ACS NANO, 2019Bi-metallic cobalt-nickel phosphide nanowires for electrocatalysis of the oxygen and hydrogen evolution reactions
CATALYSIS TODAY, 2019Large-Scale Fabrication of Hollow Pt3Al Nanoboxes and Their Electrocatalytic Performance for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction
ACS SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY & ENGINEERING, 2019General Synthetic Strategy for Pomegranate-like Transition-Metal Phosphides@N-Doped Carbon Nanostructures with High Lithium Storage Capacity
ACS MATERIALS LETTERS, 2019Inverted Pyramid Textured p-Silicon Covered with Co2P as an Efficient and Stable Solar Hydrogen Evolution Photocathode
ACS ENERGY LETTERS, 2019