Energy Materials Science and Engineering - SEMINARS

UPCOMING SEMINARS

Title: Nanostructured Functional Materials for Energy Conversion and Storage

By: Dr. Donghai Wang, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802

At: Room ESB 355

On: April 7, 2010, 1:30pm

Abstract

This talk will present some works on synthesis of nanostructured materials (e.g. oriented nanostructures, self-assembled nanoporous materials, and hybrid nanostructures) with controlled crystalline phase, orientation, and spatial arrangement, and show how such controlled nanostructures can be used in energy storage and improve device performance of Li-ion batteries and ultracapacitors. Specifically, the electrochemically active materials/carbon hybrid nanostructures have been studied as electrodes in Li ion battery showing superior capacity retention and high rate performance during lithiation/delithiation. Metal oxide/graphene nanocomposites show enhanced capacitance for potential use as ultracapacitors. Understanding the roles of nanostructure in these applications may provide insights into the design of advanced Li batteries and capacitors, and other unconventional approaches for energy storage.

Brief Biosketch

Donghai Wang received B.S. and M.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from Tsinghua University in China and a Ph.D. degree from Tulane University. Before joining Penn State as an Assistant Professor in 2009, he was a postdoc and subsequently became a staff scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratoriues. Dr. Donghai Wang's research interests include design and synthesis of nanostructures inorganic materials, and clean energy technologies such as Li battery and solar cell.