Nanoscience - From curiosity driven research to practical results

Kurt W Kolasinski

Chemistry, West Chester University

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Accounts of Chemical Research 50 (2017) Holy Grails in Chemistry

! Sea Spray Aerosol: The Chemical Link between the Oceans, Atmosphere, and Climate (Grassian)

! Controlling Silica in Its Crystalline and Amorphous States: A Problem in Surface Science (Freund)

! Heterogeneous Catalysis: A Central Science for a Sustainable Future (Friend)

! Nanomaterials and Global Sustainability (Hamers)

! Semiconductor Surface Chemistry as Holy Grail in Photocatalysis and Photovoltaics (Kamat)

! The Holy Grail: Chemistry Enabling an Economically Viable CO2 Capture, Utilization, and Storage Strategy (Carter)

! Toward Cost-Effective and Sustainable Use of Precious Metals in Heterogeneous Catalysts (Xia)

! Future Porous Materials (Kitagawa)

! CO2−Water−Rock Wettability: Variability, Influencing Factors, and Implications for CO2 Geostorage (Iglauer)

! Solar Fuels and Solar Chemicals Industry (Nocera)

! Cyborgian Material Design for Solar Fuel Production: The Emerging Photosynthetic Biohybrid Systems (Peidong Yang)

! The Rise of Highly Efficient and Stable Perovskite Solar Cells (Grätzel)

! Catalysts by Design: The Power of Theory (Hammes-Schiffer)2

Too Precious to be Expensive

! Energy

! Ammonia

! Water

What do nanoscience & surface chemistry have to offer?

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Challenges in Surface/Nano/Materials Chemistry

! Solar! Solar!! Solar!!!

" Nanocrystalline materials for light conversions

" Charge transfer dynamics

" Thin films of conducting organic polymers

" Solar fuels

! Batteries

" Electrodes

" Electrolytes

" Surface electrolyte interphase (SEI)

! Soft interfaces

! Hydrogen production

! Fuel cells

! Materials

" Superconductors

" Thermoelectrics

" Smart windows

" H2 storage

" Thermal storage

" Passive cooling

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Human Impact of Energy

• Strong correlation between HDI & energy consumption

! Kolasinski, Curr. Opin. Solid State Mater. Sci. 2006, 10, 129

• To elevate Developing World to status of Poland requires equivalent of 148 Mbbl/day of oil

• Current production = 98 Mbbl/day (+17% since 2006 due to fracking)

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Ammonia Synthesis

! Why so important?

! Can it really be that difficult?

! Can it really be that interesting?

N2+ 3H

2→ 2NH

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V. Smil, Enriching the Earth: Fritz Haber, Carl Bosch, and the Transformation of World Food Production, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 2001.

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! Modern agriculture dependent on ammonia based fertilizer

! This cannot be replaced by dung

! If ammonia production were shut down, 4.2 billion people could not be supported by agriculture

! NH3 requires fossil fuels both for H2 and for the energy to run the chemical reaction

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Can ammonia synthesis really be that important?

1965World population surpasses 3.3 billion

NH3 Synthesis is, arguably, the single most important industrial chemical reaction

Erisman, Sutton, Galloway, Klimont & Winiwarter, Nature Geoscience 1 (2008) 636

Nobel Prize in Chemistry

1918

Fritz Haber, Kaisere -rr-Wilhelmmm-mm-Institutut, Berlinin, Germany

"for the synthesis of ammonia from its elements

y

tsts"

1931

Carl Bosch, University of Heidelberg, Germany

"in recognition of their contributions to the invention and development of chemical high

pressure methodsf che

ds"

2007Gerhard d Ertlrtl, Fritztztz-

070020zz-Haberee -rr-Institutut, Berlin, FritF tzz abeHH er In

GermanyGermany"for his studies of chemical processes on solid f chemical pr

surfaces"G. Ertl, Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. Engl. 47 (2008) 352411