Join us for a seminar on the "Multiscale Architected Materials for Energy and Sustainability Technologies" by Professor Joerg Werner from Boston University.

Abstract:

Controlling structural features of extended materials on the nano-, micro, and macroscale with precise placement of multiple complementary components allows for a synergistic composition of functionalities all the way to fully interdigitated devices. In my lab, we develop bottom-up fabrication methods of such multiscale and multi-component material architectures using electrochemistry, (non)equilibrium phase separation, (macro)molecular self-assembly, and nanoconfined synthesis. In this talk, I will discuss our recent advances in the fabrication of monolithic anisotropic electrode architectures through Hybrid Inorganic Phase Inversion (HIPI) of soft and hard matter. The architected electrodes possess low-tortuosity pores traversing through the plane of the electrode, ideal for transport, and we established criteria to tune their pore size gradient and distance on the micron scale, tailor the nanoporosity within its matrix, and target a desired composition and crystallinity. I will also present preliminary data on structure-performance relationships of our architected electrodes in batteries that will eventually aid in the design of application-tailored energy storage solutions. In the second part, I will present our recent discovery of a novel thin-film deposition paradigm - the Electrodeposition of Polymer Networks (EPoN), which enables conformal coatings of tunable 10-100s nm on conductive substrates of arbitrary topographies. EPoN makes use of novel electrochemical crosslinkers at fractions as low as 1%, enabling the surface-confined, self-limiting, and defect-correcting deposition of pre-synthesized polymers independent of their properties and functionalities. I will highlight the versatility of EPoN in the context of ultrathin films of polyether-based solid electrolytes, thermo-responsive polyacrylamides, as well as reactive polymer coatings for post-deposition functionalization and applications in carbon capture and conversion.