Inorganic Energy Materials
Our extensive knowledge of synthetic inorganic chemistry throughout the periodic table has led to broad interests in the area of energy materials, directed at hydrogen storage, battery materials and water splitting. Some of these areas of research have been undertaken in on-going collaborative studies with the Reisner and Grey Groups in Cambridge.
We have explored the structural chemistry and electronic behaviour of confined (molecular) oxide molecules containing a range of metal ‘dopant’ atoms. Examples of these are shown in the study below in which we showed that the presence of a dipole moment in titanium oxide cobalt-doped cages results in a large band gap reduction, e.g., in cage 4, in which the dipole moment is coincident with the HOMO-LOMO transition. This work has not only led to an understanding of the optimum properties for light harvesting molecules but these molecular species have also been used as single-source precursors for the deposition of photocatalytic films for water splitting.
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-Selected Publications:
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Designing for conjugate addition: an amine functionalised quinone anolyte for redox flow batteries; Rajesh B. Jethwa, Evan Wenbo Zhao, Rachel N. Kerber, Erlendur Jónsson, Dominic S. Wright, Clare P. Grey, J Mater. Chem. A, 2021, 9, 15188-15198
DOI: 10.1039/d1ta02870g
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New Route to Battery Grade NaPF6 for Na-Ion Batteries: Expanding the Accessible Concentration; D. M. C. Ould, S. Menkin, C. A. O'Keefe, F. Coowar, J. Barker, C. P. Grey, D. S. Wright, Angew. Chem., 2021, 133, 25086
DOI: 10.1002/anie.202111215
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Single-Source Deposition of Mixed-Metal Oxide Films Containing Zirconium and 3d Transition Metals for (Photo)electrocatalytic Water Oxidation; V. Riesgo-Gonzalez, S. Bhattacharjee, X. Dong, D. S. Hall, V. Andrei, A. D. Bond, C. P. Grey, E. Reisner, D. S. Wright, Inorg. Chem. 2022, 61, 6223
DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.2c00403
Together with Prof. Clare Grey (Cambridge), we are developing new electrolyte materials for the next generation of lithium, sodium, magnesium and redox-flow batteries. This work has been funded by industrial partners and by the U.K. Government Faraday Institute.
-Selected Publications:
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Mg(PF6)2-Based Electrolyte Systems: Understanding Electrolyte–Electrode Interactions for the Development of Mg-Ion Batteries, Evan N. Keyzer, Hugh F. J. Glass, Zigeng Liu, Paul M. Bayley, Siân E. Dutton, Clare P. Grey, Dominic S. Wright, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2016, 138, 28, 8682-8685; DOI:10.1021/jacs.6b04319.