Research

Our main theme is dedicated to developing innovative electrochemical and photoelectrochemical cell technologies that transform various waste streams – including biomass, plastic waste, and wastewater – into valuable resources. Our core objective is the simultaneous production of clean hydrogen fuel and diverse value-added chemicals. This approach not only addresses pressing environmental challenges by valorizing waste but also contributes to a circular economy. 🌞

A key aspect of this research is the integration of renewable energy sources, such as solar photovoltaics or direct sunlight, to power these conversion processes. By utilizing sustainable energy inputs, we aim to create highly efficient, environmentally benign, and economically viable solutions for energy generation and chemical synthesis from readily available waste materials. Our work focuses on designing advanced catalytic materials, optimizing cell configurations, and understanding reaction mechanisms to maximize both energy efficiency and product selectivity. 

We focuse on a novel, sustainable approach to transform end-of-life tires (ELTs) into high-value functional carbon materials. We aim to extract high-grade carbon black from discarded tires and remove impurities to achieve exceptional purity.

Our key innovation lies in utilizing flame technology (high-temperature, rapid thermal treatment) to significantly enhance the electrical conductivity of the purified carbon black. Furthermore, we employ this advanced flame synthesis method to grow carbon nanotubes (CNTs) directly on the surface of the carbon black particles. This sophisticated process creates a unique hybrid carbon material with superior properties.

The ultimate goal of this research is to apply these tailored carbon black-CNT hybrid materials as conductive additives for high-performance lithium-ion batteries, contributing to more sustainable and efficient energy storage solutions.

This theme is the foundation for much of our lab's research, focusing on making high-performance and multifunctional nanomaterials. We primarily use solution-based methods like sol-gel, chemical bath deposition, and hydrothermal processes to precisely control material formation. 😚

Our unique strength lies in applying high-temperature, rapid flame processes to finely tune and enhance the functionality of these nanomaterials. By precisely controlling flame parameters such as:

• Fuel/oxygen ratio: This allows us to create specific oxidation, neutral, or reduction atmospheres, enabling the crucial control of point defects (metal/oxygen vacancies, interstitial, etc) while maintaining the complex nanostructure.

• Flame temperature and time: These factors enable the control of grain growth/necking, porosity and amount of deects.

Through these precise controls, we can engineer a wide range of material properties, including surface characteristics, pore structure, morphology, and the size/bonding of particles. For example, when sulfide materials are exposed to our high-temperature flames, the rapid oxidation of sulfur can form an ultra-thin, uniform oxide layer just a few nanometers thick. This allows us to achieve surface reconstruction and precise control over surface composition.

The resulting advanced nanomaterials and electrodes are crucial for the technologies in our first two research themes and are also applied in other fields like various energy devices, advanced catalysis, and photothermal devices. 

This research theme focuses on developing advanced interfacial solar steam generation technologies for the purification of seawater and wastewater. Beyond traditional carbon-based or plasmonic nanoparticle photothermal materials, our work explores the synthesis of novel photothermal materials that are superior in performance, cost-effective, and possess enhanced functionalities. 👍

Our innovations in this area include:

• Novel Photothermal Materials: We develop new materials that efficiently convert sunlight into heat at the water's surface. These materials offer improved performance, lower cost, and added features compared to conventional options. So far, we have reported on new materials such as BiCuSO, red phosphorus (red P), silicon nanoparticles, and BiVO4-based composites.

• Enhanced Functionalities: We integrate additional capabilities into our systems. For instance, we incorporate photocatalytic functions to directly break down bacteria and pollutants, transforming the system into a powerful tool for wastewater purification and sterilization, not just desalination.

• Device Structure Design: We also focus on designing efficient device structures to maximize solar energy absorption and steam generation, ensuring high efficiency in water purification.

This research aims to provide sustainable and energy-efficient solutions for clean water access, addressing critical global water challenges.

This theme focuses on the synthesis and design of high-entropy materials (HEMs), aiming to leverage their unique properties as advanced electrocatalysts. Our primary goal is to develop highly efficient catalytic systems for two critical applications: electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) and the conversion of nitrate (NO3) from wastewater into valuable ammonia (NH3). 👍

High-entropy materials offer significant advantages due to their multi-element composition and interaction. This allows for facile control over surface composition and provides a unique platform where interactions between adjacent atoms and ions can be precisely manipulated. These characteristics are crucial for achieving superior selectivity and activity in catalytic processes.

Our recent work in this field, highlighting the potential of these innovative materials, was published in Advanced Functional Materials (you can find it here: https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/adfm.202301153). This research highlights our commitment to pushing the boundaries of material science for sustainable energy and environmental solutions.