Interfacial Processes for Efficient Energy Conversion

This book describes the combined efforts by experimental material scientists, computational scientists, and advanced measurement scientists to understand the structure and processes at solid–liquid and solid–solid interfaces. That cooperation led to the development of efficient energy-conversion processes and devices in solar energy-based systems such as secondary batteries, solar cells, and fuel cells. The development was the result of 10 years of research in the Global Research Center for Environment and Energy based on Nanomaterials Science (GREEN) in the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Japan. The cooperating scientists’ work was supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) project “Development of Environmental Technology Using Nanotechnology”. In this resulting book the reader will find comprehensive descriptions of all solid-state batteries, lithium–air batteries, fuel cells, and perovskite solar cells. Also included is coverage of fundamental research on novel electrocatalysts, the development of new measurement methods, and computational approaches to characterize solid–liquid and solid–solid interfaces. This comprehensive volume summarizes the research achievements of GREEN to mark the milestones in those research fields, creating an ideal reference source for researchers, professionals, and graduate students in the fields of environmental and energy materials sciences. As well, it provides computational and characterization techniques specific to those materials.