Title: Design of Multi-Scale Materials for Energy and Health

Speaker: Prof. Antonio Tricoli

Abstract:  Designing materials capable to efficiently manage the transfer of charges to or from dispersed molecules is key to the development of future renewable energy technologies, as well as for point-of-care and portable medical diagnostic devices. While much progress has been achieved in the preparation of materials at the atomic- and nano-scale, their meso- and micro-scale properties are often unsatisfactory. This limits translation of fundamental breakthroughs and progress of emerging energy and health technologies. In this presentation, I will discuss some (hot) strategies for the design of multi-scale electronic materials, demonstrating their potential for effectively managing ion and electron transport at the solid-fluid interface. I will present few representative applications of these materials for electrochemistry, including the fabrication of efficient Li-S battery systems, efficient H₂ production with earth-abundant materials, and detection of biomolecules with miniaturized portable devices.