报告内容摘要

Highly efficient chemical-electrical energy conversion has become the primary target for the development of renewable energy technologies such as water electrolyzers and fuel cells.  Such energy conversion to a large extent relies on efficient electrocatalysts that are desired to be highly active, durable and cost-effective. Precious metals such as platinum (Pt) are conventionally used as electrocatalysts, which are not only expensive and scarce, but also have limited activity and/or stability. Novel designs of electrocatalysts and significant improvements of the performance, thereby reducing the usage of precious metals, are needed for scale-up applications of the various electrochemical energy conversion technologies. 

Here I will discuss our recent work on the development of advanced electrocatalysts with the nanoscale architecture tailored for renewable energy conversion. The focus will be placed on Pt-based nanoparticles for electrocatalytic reduction of oxygen, while 2D transition metal chalcogenides for the hydrogen evolution reaction will also be discussed. It will summarize the organic solution approaches developed for controlled synthesis of the corresponding nanomaterials, nanostructure characterization with state-of-the-art electron microscopic and X-ray spectroscopic techniques, and electrochemical studies for catalytic performance assessment. Structure-property relationships will be elucidated in terms of particle size, shape, composition and surface structure. Mechanisms governing the catalytic enhancement will be depicted by comparing the results with fundamental studies of extended-surface model catalysts and theoretical simulation.  

报告人简介

Chao Wang holds an assistant professor position in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. He graduated from the University of Science and Technology of China in 2004 with a Bachelor degree in Physics. He received his Ph.D. degree from Brown University in 2008 and then did postdoc at Argonne National Laboratory. He joined the faculty of Johns Hopkins University in 2012, where his research is focused on the development of advanced nanomaterials and nanotechnologies for renewable energy applications. He has received the ORAU Junior Faculty Award and the AFOSR Young Investigator Award.