1. Understanding the Structure – Function Relationships in Metal (Oxy)Chalcogenides: Towards the Development of Materials for Targeted Applications in Energy Conversion and Sensing
- Author
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Wuille Bille, Brian Alan, Velázquez, Jesús M1, Wuille Bille, Brian Alan, Wuille Bille, Brian Alan, Velázquez, Jesús M1, and Wuille Bille, Brian Alan
- Abstract
With the increasing deterioration of the global climate, ushered in by fossil-fueled industrialization, a call to action is set forth to develop technologies that will transform our current manufacturing and energy landscapes into sustainable ones, where materials chemistry plays a central role. Among the biggest challenges of our time lies the realization of carbon neutral and negative emission technologies as ways to ameliorate the effects of global warming. From a materials’ perspective, this realization can be achieved by the design of efficient light absorbers that can harvest intermittent sunlight, through the development of higher capacity batteries wherein this collected energy can be stored, and by the conception of selective catalyst materials that can directly or indirectly utilize renewably-sourced energy inputs to enable the conversion of molecules, whose products can act as energy vectors or replace petroleum-derived commodities. Metal chalcogenides represent a material space with apt characteristics to tackle these problems owing to the wide range of properties that sulfides, selenides, and tellurides encompass.Chapter 1 provides a summary of the advantageous properties that metal chalcogenides present in the field of energy storage and conversion, with a focus on the fundamental principles that underpin them. Additionally, gaps in the current understanding of catalytic and sensing properties in these materials are introduced. Essential information related to important characterization techniques applied in this work is incorporated as well. Chapter 2 delves into the study of the structural and electronic changes induced by the intercalation of transition metals into the framework of Chevrel Phase chalcogenides (MxMo6T8, where M = transition metal, T = S, Se, Te) – a series of materials with promising applications as catalysts and battery electrodes, for which the connection between composition and function is still poorly understood. Using X-ray abso
- Published
- 2023