Low-temperature solution-based syntheses such as sol-gel processing and hydrothermal synthesis allow for the simultaneous control of chemical composition and particle size. These attributes are desired for creating complex materials with tailored physical properties needed in advanced energy applications. The first example highlights that viscosity control of a colloidal suspension allows for film thickness of transition-metal tungstates to be varied. Accordingly, light absorption can be maximized and recombination minimized for photoelectrochemical water oxidation. CuWO4 is an n�type semiconductor with a band-gap energy of ~2.4 eV, and 200 nm thick CuWO4 films photooxidize water with simulated solar radiation with a nearly quantitative Faradaic efficiency for O2 evolution. As a second example, hydrothermal synthesis under pure O2 has been employed to generate 30 nm Li1+xMn2�xO4 spinel nanoparticles without detrimental oxygen vacancies that lead to particle fracture. Electrochemically, spinels prepared in this manner show <6% capacity fade over the first 100 3-hour charge/discharge cycles, compared to the 25% fade typically observed when low-temperature methods are employed. Moreover, the ability to synthesize nanoparticles from a bottom-up solution approach affords high power electrodes. Finally, new materials and research challenges specific to oxide chemistry will be discussed.

Sol-gel processing and hydrothermal synthesis of ternary phase oxides for energy conversion and storage applications

246th National Meeting (2013)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.