Energy and Nanotechnology Part Deux

Importance of Energy Storage Solar PVs are great! But what about at night? Power mobile devices / cars Lighter, more efficient –Batteries –Supercapacitors Energy Usage –LEDs –Thermal Insulation –Lightweight Materials

Energy Storage Needs Energy (J) Power (W =J/s)

Batteries Chemical energy -> electrical energy ojects/vss/docs/power/2-how-do- batteries-work.html

Li-Ion Batteries Li + has high energy density Rechargeable Safety concerns

Nano LIBs Silicon can replace graphite as electrode Nano-structuring allows for expansion

Liquid Metal Battery Different metal densities separate easily

Flow Batteries Separate power and energy Easy to recharge Safe Complicated Consumes energy

Nano-Flow Battery Nanoparticles of Li-Battery Material nanoFlowcell – Q-eSportslimousine

Supercapacitors

Capacitor/Graphene Capacitor Capacitor -> dielectric Supercapcitor -> Helmholtz Double layer

Energy Efficiency Lighting Thermal Energy Automotive/Aerospace

LED Like a photovoltaic but in reverse More efficient than incandescent bulb Needs to be energy efficient to make

LED displays

Physics Nobel Prize IR LEDs – GaAs 1960s Visible LEDs – doped GaP 1960s Blue LEDs – GaN 1980s – 1990s – MOVPD – Doping – Activate dopants /physics/laureates/2014/advanced- physicsprize2014.pdf

QD LEDs Made possible by efficient blue LED Tune color better than traditional materials More efficient do/quantum-dots/

Applications Displays – QD Vision – Nanosys Lighting – Pacific Light Technologies

Organic LEDs Polymer or small molecule Solution processable Expensive to make

Escaping Light stories Plasmonic cavity with subwavelength hole-array Made using nanoimprint lithography

Thermal Energy Thermal management – High thermal conductivity – CarbAl Insulation – Low thermal conductivity – Aerogels

Lighter/Stronger Materials Nanostructured bulk materials Polymer nanocomposites Carbon nanotechnology Polymer Journal (2012) 44, 334–339