Energy Materials for Sustainable Development: On Demand Energy Harvesting
Sponsored by: ACerS Energy Materials and Systems Division
Program Organizers: Armin Feldhoff, Leibniz University Hannover; Kyle Brinkman, Clemson University; Krista Carlson, University of Nevada, Reno; Eva Hemmer, University of Ottawa; Nikola Kanas, Institute Biosense, University of Novi Sad; Kjell Wiik, Norwegian University of Science and Technology; Lei Zuo, Virginia Tech; Stephanie Lee, Stevens Institute of Technology; Muhammad Hajj, Stevens Institute of Technology; Mohammad Haik, Stevens Institute of Technology
Friday 8:00 AM
October 22, 2021
Room: On-Demand Room 6
Location: MS&T On Demand
Invited
Controlling Conductivity in Ferroelectric Oxides at the Nanoscale: Dennis Meier1; 1Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NTNU
The control of conductivity is critical to any electronic device. I will discuss innovative strategies that allow for controlling conductivity on demand and with nanoscale spatial precision, by utilizing low-dimensional defects. For this study, we choose the ferroelectric oxide ErMnO3 as model material, because it offers a variety of domain walls with unusual transport properties, as well as outstanding structural and chemical flexibility. Crucially, as I will show, the system exhibits pronounced responses to applied electric fields and readily accommodates point defects, providing multiple possibilities to control conductivity at the local scale. On the one hand, our research establishes conceptually new pathways for controlling and processing of electronic signals at the nanoscale. On the other hand, the results demonstrate how the functionality of ferroelectric oxides can be enhanced without increasing their elemental footprint, foreshadowing interesting opportunities for the recycling/upcycling of electronic components that rely on the defect-induced functional properties.
Invited
Domain-wall Contribution to Weak-field Properties of Lead-based Relaxor Ferroelectrics: Tadej Rojac1; Mirela Dragomir1; Mojca Otonicar1; 1Jozef Stefan Institute
Application-relevant dielectric and piezoelectric properties of ferroelectrics are often dominated by displacements of domain walls under applied weak fields. Historically, studies on domain-wall contributions have been mostly performed on Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT). Unlike the so-called “normal” ferroelectric PZT, the relaxor ferroelectrics, exemplified by Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-PbTiO3 (PMN-PT), are characterized by the presence of a particular type of “low-angle” domain walls, which arise from the relaxor disorder. The question is whether and how the dynamics of these interfaces contribute to properties of PMN-PT. In this contribution I will shed light on this problem and try to propose an answer by examining in detail the multiscale structure of PMN-PT. Advanced harmonic analysis of the piezoelectric response, capable to capture details of the nonlinear interface dynamics, will be performed across a great portion of the PMN-PT and PZT phase diagrams, revealing the fundamental differences in the nonlinear response of these important ferroelectric materials.
Invited
Multifunctional Complex Oxide Heterostructures: Nini Pryds1; 1Technical University of Denmark
The wide range of fascinating properties observed in complex oxide continue to attract great interest such as ferro-, piezo- and pyroelectricity. Several strategies have been employed to break the lattice symmetry and expand the range of functionalities. Here, I will show the birth of conductivity in real-time as the conducting interfaces are formed during growth. This approach provides valuable knowledge of how the electrons are formed as well as providing a convenient way to tailor the interface conductivity with instant feedback. I will show the possibility of stabilizing phases which are otherwise not stable using highly coherent interfaces of alternating layers and report their extraordinary properties. This collection of possibilities offers unique opportunities for a wide range of rich world and new functionality of oxide interfaces.
Invited
Structure-Photophysics-Function Relationship of Perovskite Solar Cells: He Wang1; 1University of Miami
The metal halide perovskite solar cells have achieved efficiency over 25%, while the main challenge is its instability. To understand the structure-function relationship of perovskite materials, we utilize femtosecond laser spectroscopy to study photophysics of different structures. For example, we manipulate the phase distribution of quasi-2D perovskite, verified by transient absorption spectroscopy. We find that solar cell performance is more sensitive to phase purity than vertical phase distribution. In another example, a small amount of hydrophobic cation is added to improve efficiency and stability simultaneously. The cations preferentially segregate at the grain boundaries and surface, verified by transient reflection spectroscopy. Such passivation enhances device efficiency and stability. Compared with organic cation, inorganic perovskite exhibits better thermal and photo stability, but its black phase is not stable. We find that the vertical phase distribution is substrate dependent, which ultimately affects the film and device stability.
Invited
Glasses as Energy Materials for a Sustainable Development: Monica Ferraris1; Milena Salvo1; Federico Smeacetto1; 1Politecnico di Torino - Italy
After more than three millennia of glassmaking, glasses are still not often considered as energy materials for a sustainable development. Due to their peculiar properties, they can be designed with a wide range of compositions and obtained with suitable thermal, chemical and mechanical properties to fit the application requests. This talk will show research done at Politecnico di Torino, Italy, on design, preparation and thermo-mechanical characterization of new glasses and glass-ceramics as coatings for thermo-electrics and sealants for solid oxide cells. Glasses can be also obtained by vitrification of municipal solid waste incinerator ashes, then used as supplementary cementitious materials or to obtain added value products by embedding in them other industrial waste or by foaming them to obtain porous glasses.
Invited
Strategies for Enhancement of Energy Storage in Pb-free Ferroic Ceramics for Sustainable Development: Ge Wang1; Zhilun Lu1; Dawei Wang2; Antonio Feteira3; Ian Reaney1; 1University of Sheffield; 2Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology; 3Sheffield Hallam University
Capacitors based in ferroelectric BaTiO3 are ubiquitous in electronic applications for filtering and decoupling. Ceramic dielectric capacitors are also emerging as serious contenders for pulsed power applications due to their high-power densities and fast charge-discharge rates. Nonetheless, they still suffer from limited energy storage densities. Novel ferroic systems exhibiting high power density combined with an energy storage density greater than 15 J/cm3 have been recently developed. The mechanisms underpinning this record value of energy storage density have been investigated using a combination of diffraction, electron microscopy and polarisation measurements. The results will be presented and discussed alongside effective designing strategies to enhance energy storage in ferroic ceramics for sustainable development.
Invited
Proton Transport in the Ba0.8Ca0.2NdInO4 Mixed Oxide Ion Conductor: Stephen Skinner1; Yu Zhou1; 1Imperial College London
Materials for low temperature ceramic fuel cells are increasingly sought to enable operation in the 400-600oC temperature window. To address this regime it is clear that a range of ion transport mechanisms are evaluated with the most recent advances being in the area of solid oxide proton conducting ceramics. The majority of studies have focused on the use of BaCeO3 perovskite based electrolytes, with relatively few studies reporting new proton conductors. Combined with this there has been debate over the existence of triple conductors as electrodes in these devices (oxide, electron, proton). Recently the BaNdInO4 composition was proposed as a new oxide ion conductor, and in this work we demonstrate that the Ca substituted phase also exhibits significant protonic transport. Our measurements encompass impedance spectroscopy and isotopic labelling studies to conclusively show that this material is a mixed conductor with significant proton mobility.
Invited
Opto-electric, Opto-mechanical and Opto-thermo-electric Control of Ferroelectric Domains for Multi-source Energy Harvesting and Sensing: Yang Bai1; 1University of Oulu
In recent years, narrow band gap photoferroelectrics that are both ferroelectric and visible light responsive, have been developed and attracted attentions in both insulating ferroelectrics/piezoelectrics and semiconductor research. The generation of photo-excited charge carriers upon absorbing visible light in ferroelectric materials offers an additional degree of freedom to manipulate polarizations and domains, realizing combinations of functionalities when subject to optical, electrical, mechanical and thermal stimuli in a single material. In this talk, such functionality combinations for multi-source energy harvesting and sensing applications based on a narrow band gap photoferroelectric material, KNBNNO ((K,Na,Ba)(Nb,Ni)O3-δ), carried out in our group in the recent five years will be reviewed. Emphasis will be put on the discussions of how manipulation of domain wall motion with two or more energy inputs can increase the performance of an energy harvester or sensor.
Invited
Processing of Transparent and Luminescent Alumina Polycrystalline Ceramics Doped with Various Rare Earth Elements and Transition Metals: Karel Maca1; Katarina Drdlikova1; Daniel Drdlik1; Robert Klement2; Dusan Galusek2; 1CEITEC VUT; 2TnUAD
A new processing method for preparation of transparent doped alumina polycrystalline ceramics has been developed and the luminescent properties of these ceramics were evaluated. The processing method is based on proper treatment of dopants combined with novel pressure-less pre-sintering followed by Hot Isostatic Pressing. The dopants under investigation were various rare earth elements (Eu, Er, Nd, Tb, Dy) and transition metals (Cr, Mn). The final products were characterized in terms of real in-line transmission, photoluminescence in visible and NIR spectral region, and also by hardness measurement. In case of Eu-doped and Dy-doped aluminas the RIT exceeded 55% which is unique compared to the results published so far. The combination of superior optical, luminescent and mechanical (Vickers hardness exceeded 25 GPa) properties makes these materials a promising candidate for number of hi-tech applications.
Invited
Charge Extraction by Linearly Increasing Voltage (CELIV): From One-data Point Measurement to Mobility Mapping in Solar Energy Materials: Giovanni Fanchini1; Noah Stocek1; Miguel Young1; Tianhao Ouyang1; Reg Bauld1; 1University of Western Ontario
Improvement of transport properties in semiconductors for solar energy is critical for enabling these energy-generating materials to efficiently compete with fossil fuels. Charge extraction by linearly increasing voltage (CELIV) is a critical tool for determining the carrier mobility in photoactive materials, in which the device is illuminated by laser pulses, thus photogenerating charge packets under an electric field ramp. The charge-packet offer information on the photocarrier mobility. While CELIV has successfully assisted the design of virtually all of the new photoactive energy materials developed over the last decade (including photoconductive polymers and perovskites) it has been often used as one-data point measurements, with significant limitations on the information that can be extracted. Here, we will review the advantages of CELIV for designing high-mobility photoactive semiconductors and demonstrate how our group has integrated this technique with super-resolution microscopy to extend this method for cross-sectional and mapping purposes in commercial energy materials.
Experimental and Computational Investigations of the Multiple Impurities Effect on the SOFC Cathode Materials: Rui Wang1; Lucas Parent1; Yu Zhong1; 1Worcester Polytechnic Institute
On purpose of studying the multiple impurities poisoning phenomena in the SOFC cathode systems, three common cathode materials, namely (La0.8Sr0.2)0.95MnO3 (LSM), (La0.6Sr0.4)0.95(Co0.2Fe0.8)O3 (LSCF) and La2NiO4 (LNO), were prepared, sintered and finally annealed at 800, 900, and 1000℃ at different impurity-containing atmospheres, respectively. By means of X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) technique as well as the CALPHAD (Computer Coupling of Phase Diagrams and Thermochemistry) methodology, the secondary phases under different temperatures, PO2, and partial pressure of impurities were well predicted as well as experimentally verified correspondingly. Comprehensive comparisons among the three candidates under different impurity-containing conditions would also be made to provide guidance on the alternatives of the cathode materials. Finally, the accelerated tests, in some cases, were validated in our work which might also be scrutinized in the future as they may present different degradation mechanisms.
The Electrical Conductivity and Defect Chemistry of Co, Sc-doped BaZrO3: Hiroki Uehara1; Akihiro Ishii1; Itaru Oikawa1; Hitoshi Takamura1; 1Tohoku University
The electrical conductivity of a mixed proton-hole conductor, Co, Sc-doped BaZrO3 as a cathode material for proton- conducting SOFC was analyzed assuming bond percolation, and its defect chemistry was revealed. The total conductivity was measured in a wet oxidizing atmosphere. As the cobalt concentration increased, the total conductivity abruptly increased while its activation energy decreased. This result can be explained by percolation theory. The percolation threshold of conductivity for Co, Sc-doped BaZrO3 was smaller than that in Fe-doped BaZrO3 reported by D. Kim. This implies that electronic hole can widely distributes in Co, Sc-doped BaZrO3. The transport number of proton was 0.05 for the sample with [Co] = 0.04. The major defect is hole under high PO2 region, while oxide-ion conduction is also suggested judging form a slope of less than 1/4 for the PO2 dependence of conductivity.
Enhanced Conductivity Aluminum Composites for Electric Grid Applications: Aditya Nittala1; Lloyd Furuta2; Kashi Subedi2; Xiao Li1; WoongJo Choi1; David Drabold2; Alex Poznak3; Frank Kraft2; Keerti Kappagantula1; 1Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; 2Ohio University; 3Hydro Innovation & Technology
Overhead cables, responsible for a majority of power transmission in the US, comprise of reinforced aluminum alloy conductors. Owing to their inherent resistivity, they incur losses during power transmission, primarily as resistance heat dissipation which induces additional issues such as sagging, creep loading, and failure. Transmission energy losses account for ~6% (~200 TWh) of energy generated in the US annually. There is a critical need for developing enhanced conductivity aluminum alloys for improving energy efficient power transmission.We discuss strategies to improve electrical performance of aluminum alloys with the addition of graphite nanoparticles, using solid phase processing technologies, namely shear assisted processing and extrusion and hot extrusion. We present results showing enhanced conductivity in bulk wires by 3% at operating temperatures and 10% decrease in temperature co-efficient of resistance with no loss to mechanical performance. Finally, we explore microstructural features that are essential for enhanced conductivity pathways in the composite.