Energy materials are promising to face the energy and climate crisis. However, there is a need to focus on their end-of-life challenge that questions their sustainability.
Our lab vision is to close the cycle of energy materials through a fundamental approach and to be a zero waste experimental lab.
Research workflow (current research advancements, challenges, and our vision)
Energy material research has primarily focused on advancing synthesis techniques, discovering new efficient materials, innovating and improving devices, and exploring various types of energy conversion or storage solutions. However, once these devices reach the end of their lifespan, they are often disposed of. Our lab’s vision is to close the loop of these energy materials by addressing what happens after use.
Our first area of focus is understanding end-of-life mechanisms, why materials degrade and lose functionality. By unraveling these mechanisms, we aim to design strategies that prevent degradation and extend device lifetimes.
Our second focus is on managing the waste these materials become after use. This waste poses two key challenges: it can be toxic or hazardous if not managed properly, and it can disrupt the supply chain of critical materials, particularly when it involves rare or scarce elements. To address this, we investigate (1) recycling: recovering the original raw materials, (2) repurposing: finding new uses for post-life materials, and (3) safely storing hazardous waste.
Our third focus is application-oriented, focusing on effectively closing the cycle by re-manufacturing and re-testing all devices. Through this approach, we bridge the gap between fundamental chemistry, structure, processing, and the performance of recycled materials. In this way, we connect basic fundamental chemistry, structure, processing, and the performance of recycled functional energy materials.
Research approach
-
Perovskites
Our group currently investigates perovskite-type materials for energy conversion and storage. Perovskites have the chemical formula ABM3, where M is a halide (e.g., I, Br, Cl) or oxygen. They form a 3D corner-sharing, cubic octahedral structure (see figure below).
Perovskites are emerging materials with excellent and tunable properties. They can function as electronic, ionic, or mixed ionic-electronic conductors, advantageous for many energy-related applications.
Halide perovskites have shown great potential for use in solar cells, light-emitting diodes, or X-ray detectors, among others. Additionally, perovskite oxides have been used as electrodes in solid oxide fuel and electrolysis cells, as well as electrolytes in solid-state batteries.
-
Energy conversion
We are an experimental wet lab focused on synthesizing functional materials and fabricating devices. Particularly, solar cells and solid oxide electrochemical cells.
A central part of our work involves depositing and analyzing thin films to understand their fundamental properties and to optimize them for practical applications. In thin-films, surfaces and interfaces play a critical role in determining the overall material and device performance.
-
End-of-life
How can we extend the lifetime of energy materials?
We study the chemical and structural degradation mechanisms that limit material stability, aiming to identify their root causes. This knowledge enables us to rationally design materials with improved long-term stability.
We use advanced characterization techniques to analyze end-of-life processes under external stressors. These studies are done in situ and operando, utilizing high-throughput approaches to accelerate understanding and discovery.
-
Separation processes
How to manage waste? Recycling? Repurposing?
When an energy material reaches its end-of-life, we focus on experimentally treating the resulting waste to either recycle the raw materials or repurpose the material for new applications.
Our research centers on understanding and developing the underlying separation processes, chemistry, and structural transformations involved in these pathways. We use both solution-based and solid-state separation techniques, combined with synchrotron-based characterization, to bridge fundamental insights with practical strategies for closing the materials loop.
