SEMINAR: Engineering Electrocatalytic Materials for Energy Conversion and Storage

Presented by:
Carlos Morales Guio
Postdoctoral Fellow
Department of Chemical Engineering
Stanford University

 

Progress in catalysis is driven by society’s needs. Recent years have seen the emergence of alternative energy technologies for the generation of electricity, however, dependence on fossil fuels will persist until we develop means to efficiently store, transport and use electricity at global scales. A promising approach to store energy is the use of excess electricity to drive the production of fuels that can later be transformed back into electricity on demand.

This seminar will describe systematic approaches to the development of materials and devices for the low-temperature, electron- driven production of chemical fuels. The reactions covered include (1) hydrogen generation from water, (2) the synthesis of liquid alcohols from carbon dioxide, and (3) the water oxidation reaction. Reactions (1) and (2) are cathodic processes relevant to the synthesis of chemical fuels from renewable energy sources (e.g. wind and solar), while reaction (3) is a major kinetic bottleneck at the anode of water and carbon dioxide electrolyzers. Common catalyst materials for these reactions face challenges in terms of activity, selectivity, stability, cost, and/or Earth-abundance. Furthermore, materials development has been hindered by the lack of understanding on how charges and molecules are transported in and out of the catalyst/electrolyte interface, the physical boundary where chemical transformations occur. This talk will describe a combination of experimental and kinetic modeling methods to understand the charge and mass transfer phenomena affecting the performance of electrocatalytic materials. The insights generated are then used to engineer advanced materials and devices through control of morphology, stoichiometry, and electronic properties in order to overcome performance barriers in catalyzing these reactions, particularly for low-cost, Earth-abundant materials. Finally, modification of the pH and composition of the electrolyte will be shown as a viable alternative to increase the stability and efficiency of scalable energy storage devices.

Carlos Morales Guio is a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University, where he is working with Professor Thomas Jaramillo on the engineering of catalysts for the electrochemical conversion of carbon dioxide into fuels and chemicals. He received his PhD in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at the École Polytechnique Fedéralé de Lausanne (EPFL) in 2016, where he worked with Professor Xile Hu on the coupling of electrocatalyst to photoabsorbers for solar fuels production. Prior to enrolling at EPFL, Carlos earned a bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering from Osaka University where he was a Monbukagakusho Scholar. He is a recipient of the Swiss National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship and the Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) Award 2017.

Date/Time:
Date(s) - Jan 26, 2018
10:00 am - 11:00 am

Location:
Boelter Hall 3400
420 Westwood Plaza Los Angeles CA 90095