(3ek) Nano-Electochemical Systems for Energy Conversion

Nanomaterials have been rigorously pursued in the energy challenge and now comprise a significant effort towards high performance fuel cells, solar fuel production and solar cells.  Nanoengineering is an attractive route to efficiently utilize materials and enhance functionality due to confinement effects and interfacial phenomenon. The diminutive sizes and large surface to volume ratios of these structures can augment chemical sensitivity and surface reactions or influence charge transport and photonic coupling.

Electrochemistry, which is central to life sustaining energy systems, is also a major theme among sustainable energy storage and conversion technologies.  Manifesting as redox reactions, electrocatalysis and photoelectrochemistry, the high efficiency of electrochemical reactions and capacity to directly interface high energy density fuels continues to drive these efforts. 

Many energy systems are inherently electrochemical in nature and nanostructuring provides a format to efficiently utilize material, manipulating their features on a length scale to control photon interactions and chemical reaction pathways.  My research is at the junction of electrochemistry and nanomaterials and aims to address the challenges of sustainable energy technologies.