Pore-scale modelling, design and optimisation of electrodes for electrochemical energy storage systems
Energy Futures Lab hosts a seminar from Andrea Gayon Lombardo on new methods for creating energy storage systems.
Abstract
Electrodes constitute one of the main components of EES technologies since they represent the sites where the major transport and reactive mechanisms occur. Research around electrode materials with slow degradation, low cost and high energy density is important for the improvement of these technologies. Nevertheless, the performance of EES systems is closely related to their electrode structure at the micro and nano scales. Therefore an enhancement in the electrode structure could lead to an improved rate performance. As a result, the quantification of electrode microstructure is crucial for understanding the processing-microstructure-performance relationship.
To date, most research has primarily focused on analysing the processing-microstructure- performance relationship from a forward perspective. In this process, an electrode experimentally generated is characterised in terms of its microstructural properties, and a model is further implemented to quantify its effect in the overall performance. Although this forward step is insightful, the reversibility of the processing-microstructure-performance is required to enable the implementation of an optimisation algorithm to aid the design of improved electrodes. Based on this, the present work focuses on developing a series of models that will enable to bridge the gap between the microstrcucture-performance relations in a reversible manner.
Biography
Andrea Gayon Lombardo completed her degree in Chemical Engineering at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), where she graduated with Honours. During her undergraduate studies, she did a semester abroad at the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley.
During her undergraduate studies she worked for three years as engineer at Grupo SSC, Mexico focusing on providing solutions to the oil and gas industry. During her time in Cambridge, she worked at the Schlumberger Gould Research Centre, where she performed research on electrochemical devices for energy storage.
After graduating, she obtained the degree of Master of Philosophy in Advanced Chemical Engineering at the University of Cambridge. She is currently a PhD candidate at the Electrochemical Science and Engineering research group at Imperial College London, under the supervision of Prof Nigel Brandon.
Her current research at Imperial College London focuses on the pore-scale analysis of electrodes for the improvement and optimisation of electrochemical energy storage technologies.