Functional Materials for Renewable Energy Technologies

A special issue of ChemEngineering (ISSN 2305-7084).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 May 2019) | Viewed by 14478

Special Issue Editors

Conn Center for Renewable Energy Research, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292, USA
Interests: materials science; nanoscale materials; energy material; functional materials; renewable energy; energy conversion; energy storage; nanotechnology; solid-state physics; materials characterization; electron microscopy; surface science; spectroscopy; diffraction; in-situ measurements
Faculty of Chemistry, University of Warsaw, Pasteura 1, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland
Interests: energy storage; batteries; supercapacitors; nanomaterials; chemical synthesis

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, growing energy demands, along with increasing concerns of environmental pollution, excessive greenhouse gas emissions, and accelerating global warming, have drawn significant attention towards renewable energy technologies. Substantial progress has already been achieved in this field, thanks to the research and development of functional materials that enable cost-effective, durable, and highly-efficient renewable energy conversion and storage. However, this is an ongoing effort, as more work is needed in the discovery of new and improvement of existing materials, to enable large-scale, economically viable deployment of such devices and technologies.

We are launching this Special Issue, entitled "Functional Materials for Renewable Energy Technologies", in the open access journal, ChemEngineering, to provide a publication platform for researchers working in this field to share and discuss their novel and cutting-edge ideas and results. The submission of high quality manuscripts in the form of research papers, communications, or reviews, are welcome.

This Special Issue covers topics of functional materials for various renewable energy technologies, including:

  • batteries and supercapacitors
  • organic and inorganic photovoltaics
  • water splitting and photocatalysis
  • solar fuels and fuel cells
  • thermal and mechanical energy harvesting

Dr. Jacek B. Jasinski
Dr. Dominika Ziółkowska
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. ChemEngineering is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • materials for batteries and supercapacitors
  • photovoltaics
  • electrocatalysts
  • photocatalysis
  • materials for thermal energy harvesting
  • materials for mechanical energy harvesting

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 24466 KiB  
Article
Magnesium Incorporation in n-CdTe to Produce Wide Bandgap p-Type CdTe:Mg Window Layers
by Ashfaque E. Alam, Ayotunde A. Ojo, Jacek B. Jasinski and Imyhamy M. Dharmadasa
ChemEngineering 2018, 2(4), 59; https://doi.org/10.3390/chemengineering2040059 - 06 Dec 2018
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3523
Abstract
In order to develop wide bandgap p-type window materials to use in graded bandgap devices, the effects of magnesium (Mg) in n-CdTe layers were explored. In this work, magnesium-incorporated cadmium telluride (CdTe:Mg) layers were electroplated using two-electrode method. The layers were deposited on [...] Read more.
In order to develop wide bandgap p-type window materials to use in graded bandgap devices, the effects of magnesium (Mg) in n-CdTe layers were explored. In this work, magnesium-incorporated cadmium telluride (CdTe:Mg) layers were electroplated using two-electrode method. The layers were deposited on glass/FTO (flourine doped tin oxide) substrates, using an aqueous solution containing Cd2+, Mg2+ and tellurium dioxide (TeO2) as the precursors. X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies indicate the reduction of crystallinity as the Mg concentration is increased in parts per million (ppm) level. Material becomes a completely amorphous layer at high Mg concentrations in the electrolytic bath. Photoelectrochemical (PEC) measurements show the gradual reduction of n-CdTe turning into p-CdTe layers when Mg concentration is increased in the electrolyte. Optical absorption measurements show the expansion of energy bandgap from CdTe bandgap (~1.48 eV) up to ~2.85 eV. The other characterisation results (energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and photoluminescence (PL)) are also explored and presented together with above experimental results. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Materials for Renewable Energy Technologies)
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Review

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32 pages, 3642 KiB  
Review
Transition Metal–Nitrogen–Carbon (M–N–C) Catalysts for Oxygen Reduction Reaction. Insights on Synthesis and Performance in Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells
by Luigi Osmieri
ChemEngineering 2019, 3(1), 16; https://doi.org/10.3390/chemengineering3010016 - 11 Feb 2019
Cited by 75 | Viewed by 10482
Abstract
Platinum group metal (PGM)-free catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) have attracted increasing interest as potential candidates to replace Pt, in the view of a future widespread commercialization of polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) devices, especially for automotive applications. Among different types of [...] Read more.
Platinum group metal (PGM)-free catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) have attracted increasing interest as potential candidates to replace Pt, in the view of a future widespread commercialization of polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) devices, especially for automotive applications. Among different types of PGM-free catalysts, M–N–C materials appear to be the most promising ones in terms of activity. These catalysts can be produced using a wide variety of precursors containing C, N, and one (or more) active transition metal (mostly Fe or Co). The catalysts synthesis methods can be very different, even though they usually involve at least one pyrolysis step. In this review, five different synthesis methods are proposed, and described in detail. Several catalysts, produced approximately in the last decade, were analyzed in terms of performance in rotating disc electrode (RDE), and in H2/O2 or H2/air PEFC. The catalysts are subdivided in five different categories corresponding to the five synthesis methods described, and the RDE and PEFC performance is put in relation with the synthesis method. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Materials for Renewable Energy Technologies)
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