Synthesis of Energy Materials by Polymerization or Modifying Carbon Structure
Design and Analysis of Electrochemical & Thermochemical Catalyst
Hydrogen Storage & Production
The study of chemical structure is crucial in chemistry and materials science. Materials structures can be classified in various ways, and the most familiar approach is to classify them according to the dimension of the structure. For example, carbon composed of the same elements can be categorized into zero-dimensional (0D) fullerene, one-dimensional (1D) carbon nanotube, two-dimensional (2D) graphene, and three-dimensional (3D) diamond, but due to particular arrangements of atoms, the properties are significantly different depending on the structural dimension. Bearing this in mind, many organic structures were created by designing the symmetry of the molecules and using polymerization to control the size of the structure (bottom-up strategy). Depending on the structural dimension, the synthesized organic structures showed applicability to various applications such as gas separation, storage, membranes, catalysis, etc. However, covalently bonded organic structures are limited in some areas because they are thermally unstable and have low conductivity. Therefore, I have studied fused aromatic networks (FANs) structure as the energy materials to overcome the limitations mentioned above. The fused ring has no free torsional motion, allowing stable electron transfer and providing thermal and chemical stability.
Carbon-based materials have been considered promising candidates for commercially available energy devices such as fuel cells, solar cells, water electrolyzers, etc.
I am searching for the best electrocatalysts in various energy devices with structure-controlled porous organic frameworks—the research deals with the development of catalysts, analysis of electrochemical behavior, and operational mechanisms.
Among the various electrochemical catalysts, I am focusing on the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalyst for fuel cells and metal-air batteries, the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) & oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalyst for eco-friendly hydrogen fuel production from water.
Current main projects:
-Water splitting for green hydrogen
-Water treatment using electrocatalysis
-Electrode design & catalyst coating technology
Carbon-based catalysts have attracted much attention for the reactions of organic molecules due to their rich active sites, high conversion efficiency, and selectivity.
A simple ball-milling-induced mechanochemical reaction that introduces metal and different functional groups (mostly stable aromatic C=O after heat treatment) along the edges of graphitic nanoplatelets.
Current main projects:
-Dry reforming of hydrocarbon
-Ammonia synthesis & decomposition
-CO2 hydrogenation
Ultra-microporous structure
Design and study porous materials
on a scale of 1 nm for stable hydrogen storage.
High-performance (reducing activation E)
To produce clean hydrogen without carbon emissions, I am studying water-splitting systems and researching ways to minimize power consumption.
High-stability
(Industry competitive)
Preparation of catalyst ink for electrode coating & investigation of coated electrodes as water water-splitting application