ESM of Ionic and Electrochemical Phenomena on the Nanoscale

Abstract

Operation of energy storage and conversion devices is ultimately controlled by series of intertwined ionic and electronic transport processes and electrochemical reactions at surfaces and interfaces, strongly mediated by strain and mechanical processes [1-4]. In a typical fuel cell, these include chemical species transport in porous cathode and anode materials, gas-solid electrochemical reactions at grains and triple-phase boundaries (TPBs), ionic and electronic flows in multicomponent electrodes, and chemical and electronic potential drops at internal interfaces in electrodes and electrolytes. All these phenomena are sensitively affected by the microstructure of materials from device level to the atomic scales as illustrated in Fig. 1. Similar spectrum of length scales and phenomena underpin operation of other energy systems including primary and secondary batteries, as well as hybrid systems such flow and metal-air/water batteries.