Towards Renewable and Sustainable Energy Storage Devices

With the stellar increase in energy demands and the consequent crisis of environmental degradation, there is a predominant need for sustainable renewable energy storage systems. To enlighten further on this matter, The Department of Chemistry is organising a Guest Lecture on “Ultrathin, 2D large area transition metal hydroxide film for charge storage and water splitting” by Dr Manav Saxena, Centre for Nano & Material Sciences, JAIN (Deemed-to-be University). The session is scheduled to be held on October 12, 2023, and will explicate the development of ultrathin charge storage devices as an alternate source of storage and conversion systems.

Join the session to learn more about the recent advancements in renewable energy storage systems!

Abstract

The ever-increasing energy demands and growing environmental pollution have triggered enormous attention toward developing sustainable renewable energy storage and conversion systems. Large-area, ultrathin two-dimensional (<20 nm) nanostructures of electrode material could be effective for electrochemical and electrocatalytic purposes due to their abundant active sites, high specific surface area, and ultrathin thickness, which facilitates shortening the ion diffusion length.

However, small lateral size, non-uniformity and defect formation during the synthesis hinder the device’s performance. To date, very few endeavours have been made to synthesize large-area nanosheets. However, the lateral size of this nanosheet is less than 1 mm and smaller than other 2D materials, which generates fabrication challenges and consequently affects the performance of real devices. Herein, we developed the ultrathin, large-area, freestanding, and non-layered transition metal hydroxide (Co, Ni, Mo) nanosheet and its Van der Waals heterostructures grown at a water-air interface via an oven-based wet chemical synthesis method at low temperature. This work offers a competitive route towards a rational design and the development of ultrathin charge storage devices and high-performance OER electrocatalysts.