This volume provides expert coverage of the state-of-the-art in sol-gel materials for functional applications in energy, environment and electronics. The use of sol-gel technology has become a hotbed for cutting edge developments in many fields due to the accessibility of advanced materials through low energy processes. The book offers a broad view of this growing research area from basic science through high-level applications with the potential for commercialization and industrial use. Taking an integrated approach, expert chapters present a wide range of topics, from photocatalysts, solar cells and optics, to thin films and materials for energy storage and conversion, demonstrating the combined use of chemistry, physics, materials science and engineering in the search for solutions to some of the most challenging problems of our time.

This thesis focuses on the synthesis and characterization of various carbon allotropes (e.g., graphene oxide/graphene, graphene foam (GF), GF/carbon nanotube (CNT) hybrids) and their composites for electrochemical energy storage applications. The coverage ranges from materials synthesis to electrochemical analysis, to state-of-the-art electrochemical energy storage devices, and demonstrates how electrochemical characterization techniques can be integrated and applied in the active materials selection and nanostructure design process. Readers will also discover the latest findings on graphene-based electrochemical energy storage devices including asymmetric supercapacitors, lithium ion batteries and flexible Ni/Fe batteries. Given the unique experimental procedures and methods, the systematic electrochemical analysis, and the creative flexible energy storage device design presented, the thesis offers a valuable reference guide for researchers and newcomers to the field of carbon-based electrochemical energy storage.

This book focuses on novel reduced cell and stack models for proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) and planar solid oxide fuel cells (P-SOFCs) that serve to reduce the computational cost by two orders of magnitude or more with desired numerical accuracy, while capturing both the average properties and the variability of the dependent variables in the 3D counterparts. The information provided can also be applied to other kinds of plate-type fuel cells whose flow fields consist of parallel plain channels separated by solid ribs. These fast and efficient models allow statistical sensitivity analysis for a sample size in the order of 1000 without prohibitive computational cost to be performed to investigate not only the individual, but also the simultaneous effects of a group of varying geometrical, material, and operational parameters. This provides important information for cell/stack design, and to illustrate this, Monte Carlo simulation of the reduced P-SOFC model is conducted at both the single-cell and stack levels.

This is the first machine-generated scientific book in chemistry published by Springer Nature. Serving as an innovative prototype defining the current status of the technology, it also provides an overview about the latest trends of lithium-ion batteries research. This book explores future ways of informing researchers and professionals. State-of-the-art computer algorithms were applied to: select relevant sources from Springer Nature publications, arrange these in a topical order, and provide succinct summaries of these articles. The result is a cross-corpora auto-summarization of current texts, organized by means of a similarity-based clustering routine in coherent chapters and sections. This book summarizes more than 150 research articles published from 2016 to 2018 and provides an informative and concise overview of recent research into anode and cathode materials as well as further aspects such as separators, polymer electrolytes, thermal behavior and modelling. With this prototype, Springer Nature has begun an innovative journey to explore the field of machine-generated content and to find answers to the manifold questions on this fascinating topic. Therefore it was intentionally decided not to manually polish or copy-edit any of the texts so as to highlight the current status and remaining boundaries of machine-generated content. Our goal is to initiate a broad discussion, together with the research community and domain experts, about the future opportunities, challenges and limitations of this technology.

This book reveals key challenges to ensuring the secure and sustainable production and use of energy resources, and provides corresponding solutions. It discusses the latest advances in renewable energy generation, and includes studies on climate change and social sustainability. In turn, the book goes beyond theory and describes practical challenges and solutions associated with energy and sustainability. In particular, it addresses: * renewable energy conversion technologies; * transmission, storage and consumption; * green buildings and the green economy; and * waste and recycling. The book presents the current state of knowledge on renewable energy and sustainability, supported by detailed examples and case studies, making it not only a cutting-edge source of information for experts and researchers in the field, but also an educational tool for related undergraduate and graduate courses.

This book presents advanced studies on the conversion efficiency, mechanical reliability, and the quality of power related to wind energy systems. The main concern regarding such systems is reconciling the highly intermittent nature of the primary source (wind speed) with the demand for high-quality electrical energy and system stability. This means that wind energy conversion within the standard parameters imposed by the energy market and power industry is unachievable without optimization and control. The book discusses the rapid growth of control and optimization paradigms and applies them to wind energy systems: new controllers, new computational approaches, new applications, new algorithms, and new obstacles.

This book focuses on the design, fabrication and applications of carbon-based materials for lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. It provides insights into the localized electrochemical transition of the "solid-solid" reaction instead of the "sulfur-polysulfides-lithium sulfides" reaction through the desolvation effect in subnanometer pores; demonstrates that the dissolution/diffusion of polysulfide anions in electrolyte can be greatly reduced by the strong binding of sulfur to the oxygen-containing groups on reduced graphene oxide; manifests that graphene foam can be used as a 3D current collector for high sulfur loading and high sulfur content cathodes; and presents the design of a unique sandwich structure with pure sulfur between two graphene membranes as a very simple but effective approach to the fabrication of Li-S batteries with ultrafast charge/discharge rates and long service lives. The book offers an invaluable resource for researchers, scientists, and engineers in the field of energy storage, providing essential insights, useful methods, and practical ideas that can be considered for the industrial production and future application of Li-S batteries.

This book provides comprehensive coverage of Lithium (Li) metal anodes for rechargeable batteries. Li is an ideal anode material for rechargeable batteries due to its extremely high theoretical specific capacity (3860 mAh g-1), low density (0.59 g cm-3), and the lowest negative electrochemical potential ( 3.040 V vs. standard hydrogenelectrodes). Unfortunately, uncontrollable dendritic Li growth and limited Coulombic efficiency during Li deposition/stripping inherent in these batteries have prevented their practical applications over the past 40 years. With the emergence of post Liion batteries, safe and efficient operation of Li metal anodes has become an enabling technology which may determine the fate of several promising candidates for the next generation energy storage systems, including rechargeable Li-air batteries, Li-S batteries, and Li metal batteries which utilize intercalation compounds as cathodes. In this work, various factors that affect the morphology and Coulombic efficiency of Li anodes are analyzed. The authors also present the technologies utilized to characterize the morphology of Li deposition and the results obtained by modeling of Li dendrite growth. Finally, recent developments, especially the new approaches that enable safe and efficient operation of Li metal anodes at high current densities are reviewed. The urgent need and perspectives in this field are also discussed. The fundamental understanding and approaches presented in this work will be critical for the applicationof Li metal anodes. The general principles and approaches can also be used in other metal electrodes and general electrochemical deposition of metal films.

This book presents studies and discussions on anionic redox, which can be used to boost the capacities of cathode electrodes by providing extra electron transfer. This theoretically and practically significant book facilitates the implementation of anionic redox in electrodes for real-world use and accelerates the development of high-energy-density lithium-ion batteries. Lithium-ion batteries, as energy storage systems, are playing a more and more important role in powering modern society. However, their energy density is still limited by the low specific capacity of the cathode electrodes. Based on a profound understanding of band theory, the author has achieved considerable advances in tuning the redox process of lithium-rich electrodes to obtain enhanced electrochemical performance, identifying both the stability mechanism of anionic redox in lithium-rich cathode materials, and its activation mechanism in these electrode systems.

Research on deformable and wearable electronics has promoted an increasing demand for next-generation power sources with high energy/power density that are low cost, lightweight, thin and flexible. One key challenge in flexible electrochemical energy storage devices is the development of reliable electrodes using open-framework materials with robust structures and high performance. Based on an exploration of 3D porous graphene as a flexible substrate, this book constructs free-standing, binder-free, 3D array electrodes for use in batteries, and demonstrates the reasons for the research transformation from Li to Na batteries. It incorporates the first principles of computational investigation and in situ XRD, Raman observations to systematically reveal the working mechanism of the electrodes and structure evolution during ion insertion/extraction. These encouraging results and proposed mechanisms may accelerate further development of high rate batteries using smart nanoengineering of the electrode materials, which make "Na ion battery could be better than Li ion battery" possible.

This book is for anyone interested in renewable energy for a sustainable future of mankind. Batteries, fuel cells, capacitors, electrolyzers and solar cells are explained at the molecular level and at the power plant level, in their historical development, in their economical and political impact, and social change. Cases from geophysics and astronomy show that electrochemistry is not confined to the small scale. Examples are shown and exercised.

This book identifies the challenges faced by large electricity consumers when they use several sources to procure their energy. The huge penetration of distributed energy resources and the intermittent nature of renewables can put the operations of the large electricity consumer at risk. The book discusses the different types of energy sources including the pool market, bilateral contracts, electrical vehicles, energy storage systems, and demand response programs in detail and presents solutions for robust and risk based scheduling. The author provides models for determining and considering uncertainties and optimal bidding strategies. The book is useful to engineers and students involved in the integration of various energy types as well as those working in state and federal governmental organizations who regulate different aspects of electricity market operation and planning. Presents solutions for robust and risk based scheduling; Discusses the operation and planning of energy storage systems; Presents the most-up-to-date technological approaches to energy integration.

The electrochemical energy storage is a means to conserve electrical energy in chemical form. This form of storage benefits from the fact that these two energies share the same vector, the electron. This advantage allows us to limit the losses related to the conversion of energy from one form to another. The RS2E focuses its research on rechargeable electrochemical devices (or electrochemical storage) batteries and supercapacitors. The materials used in the electrodes are key components of lithium-ion batteries. Their nature depend battery performance in terms of mass and volume capacity, energy density, power, durability, safety, etc. This book deals with current and future positive and negative electrode materials covering aspects related to research new and better materials for future applications (related to renewable energy storage and transportation in particular), bringing light on the mechanisms of operation, aging and failure.

Thermochemical gas-solid reactions, as well as adsorption processes, are currently of significant interest for the design of heat storage systems. This book provides detailed models of these reactions and processes that account for heat and mass transport, chemical and physical reactions, and possible local thermal non-equilibrium. The underlying scientific theory behind the models is explained, laboratory tests are simulated, and methods for high-performance computing are discussed. Applications ranging from seasonal domestic heat storage to diurnally operating systems in concentrating solar power facilities are considered in these models, which are not available through any other sources. Finally, an outlook on future developments highlights emerging technologies.

This book includes a collection of research articles presented at the "6th International Workshop on Hydro Scheduling in Competitive Electricity Markets". The workshop was a unique and intimate forum for researchers and practitioners to present state-of-the-art research and development concerning novel methodological findings, best practices and real-life applications of hydro scheduling. It also provided a platform for discussing the developments that are taking place in the industry, sharing different experiences and discussing future trends related to this area. This proceedings book is a collection of the most relevant, high-quality articles from the workshop. Discussing the state-of-the-art in the field of hydro scheduling, it is a valuable resource for a wide audience of researchers and practitioners in the field now and in the interesting and challenging times ahead.

This book covers emerging energy storage technologies and material characterization methods along with various systems and applications in building, power generation systems and thermal management. The authors present options available for reducing the net energy consumption for heating/cooling, improving the thermal properties of the phase change materials and optimization methods for heat storage embedded multi-generation systems. An in-depth discussion on the natural convection-driven phase change is included. The book also discusses main energy storage options for thermal management practices in photovoltaics and phase change material applications that aim passive thermal control. This book will appeal to researchers and professionals in the fields of mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, electrical engineering, renewable energy, and thermodynamics. It can also be used as an ancillary text in upper-level undergraduate courses and graduate courses in these fields.

This book introduces the reader to the state of the art in nanostructured anode and cathode electrocatalysts for low-temperature acid and alkaline fuel cells. It explores the electrocatalysis of anode (oxidation of organic molecules) and cathode (oxygen reduction) reactions. It also offers insights into metal-carbon interactions, correlating them with the catalytic activity of the electrochemical reactions. The book explores the electrocatalytic behaviour of materials based on noble metals and their alloys, as well as metal-metal oxides and metal-free nanostructures. It also discusses the surface and structural modification of carbon supports to enhance the catalytic activity of electrocatalysts for fuel-cell reactions.

The world is currently facing the urgent and demanding challenges of saving and utilizing energy as efficiently as possible. Materials science, where chemistry meets physics, has garnered a great deal of attention because of its versatile techniques for designing and producing new, desired materials enabling energy storage and conversion. This book is a comprehensive survey of the research on such materials. Unlike a monograph or a review book, it covers a wide variety of compounds, details diverse study methodologies, and spans different scientific fields. It contains cutting-edge research in chemistry and physics from the interdisciplinary team of Ehime University (Japan), the members of which are currently broadening the horizon of materials sciences through their own ideas, tailored equipment, and state-of-the-art techniques. Edited by Toshio Naito, a prominent materials scientist, this book will appeal to anyone interested in solid-state chemistry, organic and inorganic semiconductors, low-temperature physics, or the development of functional materials, including advanced undergraduate- and graduate-level students of solid-state properties and researchers in metal-complex science, materials science, chemistry, and physics, especially those with an interest in (semi)conducting and/or magnetic materials for energy storage and conversion.

The series Topics in Current Chemistry Collections presents critical reviews from the journal Topics in Current Chemistry organized in topical volumes. The scope of coverage is all areas of chemical science including the interfaces with related disciplines such as biology, medicine and materials science. The goal of each thematic volume is to give the non-specialist reader, whether in academia or industry, a comprehensive insight into an area where new research is emerging which is of interest to a larger scientific audience. Each review within the volume critically surveys one aspect of that topic and places it within the context of the volume as a whole. The most significant developments of the last 5 to 10 years are presented using selected examples to illustrate the principles discussed. The coverage is not intended to be an exhaustive summary of the field or include large quantities of data, but should rather be conceptual, concentrating on the methodological thinking that will allow the non-specialist reader to understand the information presented. Contributions also offer an outlook on potential future developments in the field. The chapters "Ionic Liquid-Liquid Chromatography: A New General Purpose Separation Methodology", "Proteins in Ionic Liquids: Current Status of Experiments and Simulations", "Lewis Acidic Ionic Liquids" and "Quantum Chemical Modeling of Hydrogen Bonding in Ionic Liquids" are available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

This book presents the latest advances in thermal energy storage development at both the materials and systems level. It covers various fields of application, including domestic, industrial and transport, as well as diverse technologies, such as sensible, latent and thermochemical. The contributors introduce readers to the main performance indicators for thermal storage systems, and discuss thermal energy storage (TES) technologies that can be used to improve the efficiency of energy systems and increase the share of renewable energy sources in numerous fields of application. In addition to the latest advances, the authors discuss the development and characterization of advanced materials and systems for sensible, latent and thermochemical TES, as well as the TES market and practical applications. They also report on and assess the feasibility of uniform characterization protocols and main performance indicators, compared to previous attempts to be found in the literature. The book will help to increase awareness of thermal energy storage technologies in both the academic and industrial sectors, while also providing experts new tools to achieve a uniform approach to thermal energy storage characterization methods. It will also be of interest to all students and researchers seeking an introduction to recent innovations in TES technologies.

This book will guide Photovoltaics researchers in a new way of thinking about harvesting light energy from all wavelengths of the solar spectrum. It closes the gap between general solar cells books and photovoltaics journal articles, by focusing on the latest developments in our understanding of solid-state device physics. The material presented is experimental and based on II-VI thin-film materials, mainly CdTe-based solar cells. The authors describe the use of new device design, based on multilayer graded bandgap configuration, using CdTe-based solar cells. The authors also explain how the photo-generated currents can be enhanced using multi-step charge carrier production. The possibility of fabricating these devices using low-cost and scalable electroplating is demonstrated. The value of electroplating for large area electronic devices such as PV solar panels, display devices and nano-technology devices are also demonstrated. By enabling new understanding of the engineering of electroplated semiconductor materials and providing an overview of the semiconductor physics and technology, this practical book is ideal to guide researchers, engineers, and manufacturers on future solar cell device designs and fabrications. Discusses in detail the processes of growths, treatments, solar cell device fabrication and solid state physics, improving readers' understanding of fundamental solid state physics; Enables future improvements in CdTe-based device efficiency; Explains the significance of defects in deposited semiconductor materials and interfaces that affect the material properties and resulting device performance.

This book focuses on nanocarbons (carbon nanotubes, graphene, nanoporous carbon, and carbon black) and related materials for energy conversion, including fuel cells (predominately proton exchange membrane fuel cells [PEMFC]), Li-ion batteries, and supercapacitors. Written by a group of internationally recognized researchers, it offers an in-depth review of the structure, properties, and functions of nanocarbons, and summarizes recent advances in the design, fabrication and characterization of nanocarbon-based catalysts for energy applications. As such, it is an invaluable resource for graduate students, academics and industrial scientists interested in the areas of nanocarbons, energy materials for fuel cells, batteries and supercapacitors as well as materials design, and supramolecular science.

The handbook focuses on a complete outline of lithium-ion batteries. Just before starting with an exposition of the fundamentals of this system, the book gives a short explanation of the newest cell generation. The most important elements are described as negative / positive electrode materials, electrolytes, seals and separators. The battery disconnect unit and the battery management system are important parts of modern lithium-ion batteries. An economical, faultless and efficient battery production is a must today and is represented with one chapter in the handbook. Cross-cutting issues like electrical, chemical, functional safety are further topics. Last but not least standards and transportation themes are the final chapters of the handbook. The different topics of the handbook provide a good knowledge base not only for those working daily on electrochemical energy storage, but also to scientists, engineers and students concerned in modern battery systems.

This book contains selected papers presented during the bi-annual World Renewable Energy Network's Med Green Forum aimed at the international community as well as Mediterranean countries. This forum highlights the importance of growing renewable energy applications in two main sectors: Electricity Generation and the Sustainable Building Sector. In-depth chapters highlight the most current research and technological breakthroughs, covering a broad range of renewable energy technologies and applications in all sectors - for electricity production, heating and cooling, agricultural applications, water desalination, industrial applications and for the transport sectors.

This book presents a new topology of the non-isolated online uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system consisting of 3 components: bridgeless boost rectifier, battery charger/discharger, and an inverter. The online UPS system is considered to be the most preferable UPS due to its high level of power quality and proven reliability against all types of line disturbances and power outages. The new battery charger/discharger reduces the battery bank voltage, which improves performance and reliability, while a new control method for the inverter regulates the output voltage for both linear and nonlinear loads. The proposed USP system shows an efficiency of 94% during battery mode and 92% during the normal mode of operation.