PhD thesis position Aix Marseille université
Prof. Dr. Thierry Djenizian
MADIREL Laboratory (UMR 7246)
Aix-Marseille University
Campus deSaint-Jérôme, 13397 France
+33 (0)623 750 344
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Scientific Project :
Today, the coupling of photovoltaic (PV) with batteries has emerged to meet the important issues relative to intermittency of renewable energy. In this context, the conception of autonomous conversion/storage systems has been envisioned at a large scale to satisfy the equilibrium between energy production and its demand not only for stationary power plants but also for nomad applications including on-board technologies, which imply the miniaturization of these systems.
The project aims to combine energy conversion and storage systems to provide a self-charging (micro)-Li-ion battery. The concept of this photobattery relies on the hybridization of a dye-sensitized solar cell with a all-solid-state Li-ion battery that both share the same active material. At the heart of the smart device is a bifacial TiO2 nanotubes (TiO2NTs) thin membrane obtained by the double side anodization technique. In practice, the top face of the membrane will be used to fabricate the solar cell by filling the nanotubes with a p-type polymer (P3HT) to create a PN junction. The back face will be exploited to achieve the fabrication of the all-solid-state battery (TiO2NTs/polymer electrolyte/LiMnO2). Under illumination, the charges produce by the solar cell will be stored in the battery. The characterization of the electrode/electrolyte interfaces will be crucial to study the physico-chemical phenomena involved. By demonstrating the proof of concept, this new self-charging (micro)-battery should significantly impact applications in autonomous low power microsystems.
Techniques used :
Electrochemical techniques will be used to fabricate titania nanotubes. Conformal electrodeposition of polymer electrolyte and P3HT will be achieved by electrodeposition technique. Electrochemical characterization will be done using chronoamperommetry, cyclic voltammetry, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy under illumination.
Characterization techniques : SEM, TEM, EDX, XRD, FTIR, NMR,...
Recent publications related to the topic :
N. Plylahan, A. Demoulin, C. Lebouin, P. Knauth, T. Djenizian, “Mechanism study of Li+ insertion into titania nanotubes”, RSC Adv., 5, 28474 (2015) N. Plylahan, M. Letiche, M. Barr, B. Ellis, S. Maria, T. N. T. Phan, E. Bloch, P. Knauth, and T. Djenizian, “High energy and power density TiO2 nanotube electrodes for single and complete lithium-ion batteries”, J. Power Sources, 273, 1182 (2015) B. Ellis, P. Knauth, and T. Djenizian, “Three-dimensional Self-supported Metal Oxides for Advanced Energy Storage”, Adv. Mater., 26, 3368 (2014) N. Plylahan, M. Letiche, M. Barr, and T. Djenizian, “All-solid-state Li-ion batteries based on self-supported titania nanotubes”, Electrochem. Commun., 43, 121 (2014).
