by Prof. Sudeshna Chattopadhyay, Indian Institute of Technology, Indore

Abstract:

Nanostructured materials or low-dimensional systems lead to a spectrum of cutting-edge applications which are generally different when compared to materials in micro/macro-range. Semiconducting nanomaterials confined in different dimensions offer a versatile platform to investigate and build functional devices, owing to rich physics occurring at the surface and interfaces of the confined material/system which extends to the quantum size effect below a particular threshold. Furthermore, the interface, which includes surface as well, is a significant aspect to maneuver the performance of semiconducting materials, particularly for hybrid structures and confined systems, in various application processes. The study on optimization of confinement of the nanostructured systems, interfaces and identification of the relevant key parameter/s to provide the pathway to achieve the enhancement of material properties and its performance in the field of the energy research will be presented in this talk. Particularly, application of nanostructured semiconducting systems, along with their designed interface towards the tuning of electronic/electrochemical properties of the systems in developing efficient binder-free electrodes for high-performance electrical energy storage, the Li-ion batteries and beyond, will be discussed.