| Scope |
One of today’s challenges at the interface between Materials Science, Chemistry, Physics and Engineering is finding alternative and renewable sources of energy that are friendly to the environment and more sustainable. Research that combines information and expertise from these four disciplines leads to an understanding of how hybrid materials, including polymers, organically modified membranes, fullerenes, graphene, dyes and electrolytes, can improve the performance of materials in batteries, fuel cells, photovoltaics, and energy harvesting devices. In spite of recent ad-vances in the field, there are still many challenges that persist, related to the need for a comprehensive understanding of the chemical and physical interactions that come into play in such complex systems. New technologies are needed to design devices for alternative energy sources that have higher efficiency, flexibility and are easier to fabricate.
As a follow-up to the symposia organized at MS&T 2013 in Montreal, MS&T 2015 in Columbus, Ohio and MS&T 2017 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the organizers propose this important topic for further consideration for MS&T 2019. This symposium is aimed at providing a forum for scientific exchanges of the recent advances at the frontiers of research on Energy Issues, and Materials Performances for the twenty-first century. The symposium will cover research on Fuel Cells, Dye Sensitized Solar Cells, Hybrid Lithium Ion Batteries and other hybrid materials with novel proper-ties. This Symposium will expand into the design and development of functional devices that are assembled based on the interconnections among traditional Materials Science, Chemistry, Physics and Engineering. The symposium will include topics ranging from hybrid electrolytes, nanosci-ence and interfaces to materials applications for functional devices such as dye sensitized solar cells. A special focus will be given to fuel cell appli-cations and anticorrosive coatings/materials used for the new energy sources.
This symposium will include both invited and contributed talks. Topics of particular interest include, but are not limited to:
• Fuel Cells
• Photovoltaic devices
o Hybrid solar cells
o Hybrid polymers for Photovoltaics
o Hybrid nanocomposites
• Lithium Ion Batteries
• Energy storage and conversion devices.
• Synthetic routes, including precursor development and functionalization.
• Interface structures in organic-inorganic materials involved in the alternative energy devices.
• Structure-property relationships in hybrid materials: electrical, optical, mechanical, chemical, electrochemical, photochemical.
• Functional hybrid materials.
• Smart self-healing anticorrosive coatings used for the protection of the new energy sources.
• Modeling and simulation of properties and behavior of the alternative energy devices. |