Worldwide energy consumption has nearly doubled in the last fifty years due to rising population growth, rising living standards and invention of energy-dependent technologies. Only coal usage has decreased marginally, while electricity use has nearly tripled. The U.S. electric power industry now relies on large, central power stations, including coal, natural gas, nuclear, and hydropower plants that together generate more than 95 percent of the nation’s electricity. Over the next few decades uses of renewable energy could help to diversify the nation’s bulk power supply. Improving energy efficiency represents the most immediate and often the most cost-effective way to reduce oil dependence, improve energy security, and reduce the health and environmental impact of the energy system. By reducing the total energy requirements of the economy, improved energy efficiency will make increased reliance on renewable energy sources more practical and affordable. Thus, a key global challenge for the 21 century is development of new energy sources and energy security which requires new strategies, new energy alternatives and a global perspective in interdisciplinary education, research and training in energy production, storage and conversion processes that are environmentally friendly and renewable.

The following critical thrust areas have been identified for the CEE:

Advanced Functional Materials for Fuel Cell-Based Energy Conversion Systems

      The fuel cell research groups directed by Professors Popov, Van Zee, Weidner, Ritter, and Matthews have been developing a new class of electrocatalysts, which are more durable and catalytically active than the currently used Pt and Pt-Ru systems supported on high surface area carbons. Through work supported by DOE and NSF, Prof. Popov is developing carbon-based catalysts and low Pt loading catalysts for oxygen reduction with high selectivity (zero hydrogen peroxide production), activity and durability. Prof. Popov develops novel methods to synthesize Pt-Co oxygen electrocatalyst with low Pt content. The objective is to decrease Pt loading (0.02 mg/cm²) and to increase the activity and stability of Pt based catalyst deposited on carbon support which is activated with different functional groups such as sulfur, nitrogen and oxygen. In collaboration with Fuji Film Prof. Popov develops a low-cost bench processes for preparation of gas diffusion layers. Profs. Popov and Weidner study the structure-activity-stability relationships of mono- and bi-metallic nanoparticles supported on Nb-doped titania supports for use as electrocatalysts in PEMFC. Prof. Van Zee’s research has focused on the study of various aspects of performance characteristics and mathematical modeling in PEMFC. It includes water and heat management and the understanding of the reaction mechanism of impurity poisoning on the membrane and catalyst. Recently, Prof. Popov was awarded by DOE and General Electric to study durability of SOFC cathodes in the presence of metallic ineterconnects. Prof. Reifsnieder, who is currently a director of the Connecticut Global Fuel Cell Center at the University of Connecticut, will become director of the Solid Oxide Fuel Program at USC to lead its solid oxide fuel-cell research initiative.

Advanced Functional Materials for Hydrogen Storage and Production

      In the area of catalysis for hydrogen production and storage, interdisciplinary collaboration has been among the Departments of Chemical Engineering (Professors Amiridis, Ritter, Matthews, Weidner), Chemistry (Professors Vogt, Adams, Chen), Physics (Professor Webb), and Biological Sciences (Professor Marton). Research has focused on the synthesis and characterization of supported metal catalysts with controlled structure. The aim is to achieve “synergy”, where the catalytic properties can be better than the sum of the properties of the individual metals. Research efforts have spanned from development of novel catalyst synthetic methods such as the use of organometallic clusters (Adams, Amiridis, Webb), dendrimer-metal nanocomposites (Amiridis, Chen), and electroless deposition (Amiridis); ultrahigh vacuum (Chen) and in-situ (Amiridis) spectroscopic and microscopic characterization of catalytic materials. In addition, Prof. Weidner is developing electrocatalysts for the electrochemical conversion of anhydrous hydrogen chloride to chlorine and anhydrous bromide to bromine. The latter conversion is being studied as part of a thermo-chemical cycle to generate pure hydrogen for the hydrogen economy. Prof. Vogt’s work focuses on photocatalysis for environmental remediation applications and on hydrogen storage materials, which might have practical application in renewable hydrogen fuel cells. Prof. Ritter and his research group are carrying out funded research projects in nanostructured complex hydride materials for hydrogen storage, and high temperature hydrotalcite like adsorbents for carbon dioxide sequestration. Biomass is a chemically complex and very heterogeneous renewable resource. Most of the energy potential is locked in the cell wall’s lignocellulosic fraction, which is the most abundant material in the world. Lignocellulosic biomass can be utilized as environment friendly energy source directly (energy pellets, thermal gasification), indirectly after fermentation (hydrogen, alcohol), as an alternative to the limited crude oil and other fossil fuels. In this regard, Prof. Marton is working on improving biomass production by manipulation of growth and photosynthetic productivity as well as improvement of chemical composition of the cell wall for more efficient unlocking of the energy potential and for the increased suitability.

Advanced Functional Materials for Battery/Supercapacitor-Based Energy Storage Systems

      Professors Popov’s, White’s, Weidner’s, Van Zee’s and Ritter’s research in the area of power sources focuses on new materials for cathodes and anodes for primary and secondary batteries and supercapacitors. Lithium batteries offer higher energy density compared to other rechargeable battery systems. Their research group is engaged in (i) developing low cost and environmentally friendly cathode materials including nanostructured oxide cathodes and (ii) understanding the failure (capacity fade) mechanisms and structure-property-performance relationships of various anode and cathode materials. Prof. Popov’s research on supercapacitors has led to a unique and economical synthesis route that leads to the development of hybrid capacitor materials with superior performance compared to state-of-the-art devices.

 Development of Next Generation Devices

      The Center for Electrochemical Engineering (CEE) is dedicated to the integrated study of electrochemical power sources including fuel cells, primary and secondary batteries and supercapacitors. The CEE serves as a focal point for the development (system identification, specific cell design, test, and evaluation) of new power source technologies. The advanced devices and technologies thrust addresses development of novel, highly efficient, cost-effective and durable power sources. In the Fuel Cell research group, Professors Van Zee, Popov, Amiridis, Weidner, Gatzke, Dougal, Gadala-Maria, and Matthews collaborate through the NSF Industry/University Cooperative Center for Fuel Cells to help the industry to advance in technology and commercialization of fuel cells by performing research in: (i) fuel cell design, (ii) fuel cell performance, (iii) hydrogen storage materials, devices and distribution systems, (iv) new catalysts and materials for hydrogen production and fuel cell electrodes, and (v) motor design and power conditioning, and to educate graduate and undergraduate students with expertise in these five areas. The current focus of the research is on PEMFC.  Prof. Van Zee’s group performs research in water management, CO poisoning and development of mathematical models and software useful for fuel cell design. Prof. Popov and his research group develop a new process based on pulse deposition which can be used to replace the conventional powder type MEA preparation methods. Currently, Profs. Popov and Weidner are developing a compact unitized regenerative fuel cell (URFC). The specific goal of this research is to develop a corrosion resistant and high surface area Nb-doped titania support, followed by deposition of durable Pt and Pt-X (X = Ru, Ir, Co, etc.) alloy catalysts. For DOE and several companies Prof. Popov is developing novel methods to synthesize graphitic carbon at low temperature by using metal as catalyst. The goal is to develop a process for production of graphitic carbon with high stability at high anodic potential (1.2 V vs SHE).

Conventional battery systems (Lead acid, Ni-Zn, Ni-Fe, and Ni-Cd) do not address important issues needed for electronic appliances such as long life, low weight, the use of nontoxic materials and high power. In the last decade focus has shifted to a new class of cells such as Lithium ion and Nickel Metal Hydride batteries. Laboratories at the Center for Electrochemical Engineering are set up to synthesize different chemicals, which can be used as battery electrodes for Li-ion cells and Ni-MH batteries. Further, the facility has the ability to study the charge-discharge behavior, utilization, and capacity fade of different batteries and super capacitors. We also have the capability to cut open batteries and perform diagnostic tests to determine the causes of battery failure. It is worth mentioning here that a team of researchers headed by Dr. Popov has been investigating the cause of failure of Nickel-Metal Hydride and Lithium-ion batteries for the past 10 years. This program has been funded by both private and government funds. The National Reconnaissance Office and the DOE Office of Basic Research have been supporting this effort.

Design and Simulation Analysis of Next Generation Devices

      Professors White, Popov, Weidner, Gatzke and Ritter are collaborating on design and simulation analysis of next energy devices. This work is recognized world wide. The goal of this research is to optimize the performance of the novel materials synthesized in the advanced materials research described above and by using these materials to design novel batteries, capacitors or fuel cell systems with low cost, high activity and durability. Their work on numerical methods consists of developing efficient algorithms to solve the equations that represent the phenomena that occur in electrochemical and chemical systems. Power and Energy Systems research group, Professors Dougal and Santi in collaboration with Professors White, Popov, and Gatzke have focused on design, virtual prototyping, and testing of multidisciplinary dynamic energy systems. The VTB software developed by this group is a powerful tool for integrating research in new power sources across the engineering disciplines.

Plating and Surface Finishing

      Surface preparation, plating of conventional and nanosized deposits, electroless deposition, deposition of alloys and composites are critical for aerospace, automobile, medical and engineering industries. Tremendous potential exists for the growth of metal finishing industry in this century through the development of processes that are either environmentally friendly or are applicable at the nano-scale. The CEE carries out theoretical and experimental studies to achieve such coatings. Nanostructured alloys and innovative composite materials are developed through adaptation of existing bath chemistries. Process development is based on techniques developed in our laboratories such as underpotential deposition (UPD) of monoatomic metal layers, autocatalytic reduction and potentiostatic pulse (PP) and pulse reversal (PR) plating of amorphous and crystalline nanostructured alloys. The processes have been optimized based on superior corrosion and electrocatalytic properties. Further refinement of the coating process is achieved through the development of theoretical models. An example of this approach is our current focus to develop electroless and electrodeposition processes to synthesize ternary alloys such as Zn-Ni-X (X=Cu, SiO₂ or P). These materials are targeted as a replacement for Cd deposits used in corrosion protection of hard alloys.

      The CEE is also involved in use of electrodeposition for the development of composite materials that are applicable in the next generation of batteries, super capacitors and fuel cell assemblies. With increasing miniaturization of electronic devices, current focus is on developing portable energy sources that can power these devices. To this purpose, several nanostructured composites based on transition metals (Co/Ni/Cu) and noble metals (Pt/Pd/Ru) on powders were developed using electroless and pulse plating techniques.

 Corrosion Protection

      The Center for Electrochemical Engineering is dedicated to advancing the knowledge and experience through education and research of corrosion control, corrosion prevention by protective coatings, passivation, cathodic protection, and materials performance and selection. The Department of Chemical Engineering at USC offers undergraduate and graduate corrosion courses through the CEE that are materials oriented. The objective of the courses is to teach the students in materials selection and design. The courses introduce the student to the underlying science of corrosion engineering principles developed from thermodynamic, kinetic, mass transfer and potential theory. The special topics are: (1) electro-chemical thermodynamics and electrode potentials, (2) kinetics of electrode reactions, (3) mass transfer by migration and diffusion, (4) dc and ac corrosion techniques for corrosion rate monitoring in air, aqueous media, molten salts, concrete and soil, (5) passivity, (6) forms of corrosion, (7) engineering design of corrosion prevention systems, (8) coating and inhibitors, (9) anodic protection (10) cathodic protection.

            For the last ten years the CEE has been developing for ONR alternative coatings to protect hard alloys from hydrogen embrittlement and to substitute cadmium plating. First principle mathematical models were developed for the characterization of hydrogen permeation into metals and alloys under corrosion conditions. Currently we are developing nanostructured, non-anomalous Ni-Zn-P coatings and Zn-Ni-SiO₂ based alloys, which completely inhibit corrosion and hydrogen permeation in the substrate. For ELISHA technologies the CEE is developing a proprietary process to coat galvanized steel with a thin layer of SiO₂. This is a tremendous challenge since electrodeposition of SiO₂ from aqueous electrolytes has not been reported before. The immediate application of this process is to replace hexavalent chrome and conversion based coatings. For the last five years for SCDOT, TDOT and for Federal Highway Administration the CEE has been actively involved in research and development of novel inhibitors for preventing the failure of concrete structures. For SCDOT a mathematical model was developed which predicts the service life of the structure.