About the session
Li-ion batteries and supercapacitors are highly demanded technologies for development of green electric/hybrid vehicles. Li-ion batteries are characterised by high energy density but limited to low power, while supercapacitors can produce high power density and fast charge-discharge cycles, but are restricted by their low energy density.
Developing high performance electrodes and electrolytes are one of the key elements for producing high power and high energy devices. Nanostructured carbon materials have found crucial role in electrical energy storage devices, for instances, graphene and carbon nanotubes are promising candidates due to their unique properties, but their high cost, variable sizes and impurities make it very challenging in producing reliable electrodes with controllable properties.
In this talk, novel mesoporous carbon nanocomposites are introduced which are fabricated with a facile and low cost technology. The dimension, shape, composition and electrical conductivity of the carbon materials are well-controllable to target hybrid electrodes needs. Our recent research outcome in Li-ion batteries, supercapacitors and fuel cells will be introduced.
The advancement of manufacturing technologies are closely related to the advancement in materials.These new techniques and new materials are currently being applied in many sectors, indeed, the UK Government has set its focus on eight great technologies that underpins UK science strengths and business capabilities. More advanced techniques are continued to be developed, in parallel with advanced, functional materials. Functional materials are materials that have specific behaviour other than its load bearing capacity. In the UK alone, the turnover of business that produce and process materials is around £170 billion per annum (EPSRC, 2014).
At this full day event, three of the areas will be discussed in detail, which are Advanced Materials and Nano-Technology, including graphene, Regenerative Medicine, and Energy Storage. The speakers will showcase the latest techniques, findings, applications and utilisation of these materials into specific sectors. Ramping up of production and technological challenges will be discussed, along with the commercialisations and regulatory constraint. With speakers with different expertise and from different industrial sectors, the event will facilitate "cross-pollination" across different sectors.
