Nanotechnology in Electrocatalysis for Energy

Dr. Alessandro Lavacchi is a researcher at the Italian National Research Council (ICCOM-CNR). His research is largely devoted to energy related material science. He has co-authored more than 50 papers in leading international journals. His recent research has been focused on the development of nano-structured materials for the exploitation of biomass derived products in electrochemical devices. He has contributed to the development of "facile" methods for the synthesis of platinum-free electrocatalysts for application in fuel cells, electrolyzers and raw chemical synthesis. At present, he is Editor-in-Chief of "Coatings", an international journal devoted to material science and application of deposited materials. Dr Hamish Miller obtained his PhD in Chemistry at the Queen’s University of Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1999. He worked in the renewable energy industry for 8 years where he developed industrial processes for the production of electrocatalysts for fuel cells. In 2011, he joined the National Research Council of Italy (ICCOM-CNR), based in Florence, Italy. His research is concentrated in the field of renewable energy, in particular in fuel cells, hydrogen production and the electroreduction of CO2. He has developed expertise in alkaline membrane technology and non noble metal electrocatalysis. His recent work has appeared in The Journal of Power Sources, Chemsuschem and The Journal of Materials Chemistry A. Dr. Francesco Vizza is Research Director at the Institute of Chemistry of Organometallic Compounds of the National Research Council, (ICCOM-CNR) Florence, Italy. He is the author of 150 publications in qualified international journals, 1 monograph, several book chapters and 32 patents, on catalysis, electrocatalysis and organometallic chemistry. H-index 41; his publications on international journals have been cited 4500 times with an average of 31 citations per paper. His current research interests include: synthesis andcharacterization of nanosized metal electrocatalysts for fuel cells, the production of hydrogen by electrolysis of renewable resources, catalysts for hydrogen evolution by controlled hydrolysis of metal hydrides, portable fuel-cell power generators and the electroreduction of CO2.

Introduction.- A bird’s eye view of energy related electrochemistry.- Electrochemical device for energy conversion and storage.- Factors affecting design.- Carbon based nanomaterials.- Other Support Nanomaterials.- Supported metal nanoparticles.- Shape and structure controlled metal nanoparticles.- Monolayer decorated core shell and hollow nanoparticles.- Molecular complexes in electrocatalysis for energy production and storage.- Concluding Remarks.