Virus-enabled design of high-performing, three-dimensional nanomaterials for electrochemical energy applications

The accelerating pace of anthropogenic climate change has galvanized intensive interest in electrochemical energy storage and conversion. Developing electrode materials for electrochemical devices requires precision and synthetic control over a number of factors, including surface morphology, nanostructure, and distribution of active materials. To this end, my thesis work investigated strategies to implement the M13 bacteriophage as a programmable, lightweight scaffold in the synthesis of three-dimensional, nanoporous foams. Virus-templated nanofoams were incorporated into several relevant energy applications spanning water electrolysis, microbatteries, and electrolytic urea decomposition. The virus-mediated synthesis toolkit yielded clear enhancements in electrochemical performance, as well as design insights into improving nanostructured electrodes in diverse contexts.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctoral

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Chemical Engineering

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2020

Author dc:creator

• Records, William Christopher.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Angela M. Belcher and Paula T. Hammond.

• Chemical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• MIT theses may be protected by copyright. Please reuse MIT thesis content according to the MIT Libraries Permissions Policy, which is available through the URL provided.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/130191

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/130191