Renewable energy conversion and storage are relevant topics in applied research today, since the use of non-fossil energy sources is essential for the reduction of CO₂ emissions. Solar and wind energy harvesting combined with chemical energy storage in batteries or fuels like hydrogen are essential processes, which need to be improved in efficiency, long-term stability and scalability. Our goal is to contribute to the development of cost effective scalable solutions for energy conversion and storage.

Recent news

 

TEM Workshop: „Exploring Structures at the Atomic Scale – New Possibilities in Transmission Electron Microscopy at PLUS“

February 7, 2025, Salzburg
Program and registration

Poster presentation: „Vanadium-based cathodes for sustainable aqueous Na-ion batteries“

J. Lam Chen, D. Söllinger, S. Pokrant
European Materials Research Society 2024 Fall Meeting, September 16 – September 19, 2024, Warsaw, Poland

Poster presentation: „TEM structural analysis of photocatalytically active mesoporoussingle-crystalline LaTiO₂N particles“

J. Zalesak, J. Praxmair, J. Hörndl, S. Pokrant
European Microscopy Congress 2024, August 25 – August 30, 2024, Copenhagen, Denmark

Talk: „Hydrated Vanadium oxide – a Promising Cathode Material for Lithium-Ion and Sodium-Ion Batteries“

D. Söllinger, S. Pokrant
Exner Lectures 2024, May 14, 2024, Vienna, Austria
Further information:  https://wilhelmexner.og/2024/exner-lectures-2024/

Talk: „Comparing the Insertion Properties of Mg²⁺ into V₃O₇.H₂O in Organic and Aqueous Electrolytes“

D. Söllinger, S. Pokrant
Materials Research Society – Spring Meeting 2024, April 22 – April 26, 2024, Seattle, Washington, USA
Further information:  https://www.mrs.org/meetings-events/spring-meetings-exhibits/2024-mrs-spring-meeting

Oral presentation: „Porous Boron Nitride as Scaffold for Silicon Composite Anodes“

M. Karl
MRS Spring Meeting 2024, April 22-26, Seattle, USA

Keynote Lecture by Simone Pokrant at the 14^th ASEM workshop 2024: „Beam sensitive samples in material science and the link to TEM in biological sciences“

14th ASEM Workshop 2024, „Advanced Electron Microscopy“, April 4-5, 2024, Graz, Austria

Invited Talk: „Strategies for the Morphological Design of Photoactive Oxynitride Particles and Electrodes for Solar Water-splitting“

S. Pokrant
87. Jahrestagung der DPG und DPG-Frühjahrstagung 2024 der Sektion Kondensierte Materie (SKM), March 17 – March 22, 2024, Berlin, Germany

Oral presentation: „SiO₂ in Lithium-Ion Battery Anodes“

M. Karl, S. Pokrant
ATC Conference 2024, March 21 – March 22, 2024, Würzburg, Germany

Poster presentation: „Insertion properties of Mg²⁺ in modified V₃O₇.H₂O“

D. Söllinger, L. Gruber, S. Pokrant
2^nd Austrian Young Chemists Summit, February 14 – February 16, 2024, Salzburg, Austria
Further information:  https://www.goech.at/veranstaltungen/austrian-young-chemists-summit

Poster Conference presentation: “Characterization of V₃O₇.H₂O Electrodes for Mg-ion aqueous cells”

J. Lam Chen, S. Pokrant
Austrian Young Chemists Summit: The Diversity of Chemistry, February 14 – February 16, 2024, Salzburg, Austria

Poster Conference presentation: „Morphology Variations and Photocatalytic Performance of BiVO 4 Particles“

J. Praxmair, S. Pokrant
Gordon Research Conference, Renewable Energy: Solar Fuels, February 04 – February 09, 2024, Ventura, California, USA

Poster Conference presentation: “Degradation of LaTiO₂N based photoanodes”

J. Hörndl, S. Pokrant
Gordon Research Conference, Renewable Energy: Solar Fuels, February 04 – February 09, 2024, Ventura, California, USA

 

Latest Publications

Stability and degradation of (oxy)nitride photocatalysts for solar water splitting

Advancing towards alternative technologies for the sustainable production of hydrogen is a necessity for the successful integration of this potentially green fuel in the future. Photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical water splitting are promising concepts in this context. Over the past decades, researchers have successfully explored several materials classes, such as oxides, nitrides, and oxynitrides, in their quest for suitable photocatalysts with a focus on reaching higher efficiencies. However, to pave the way towards practicability, understanding degradation processes and reaching stability is essential, a domain where research has been scarcer. This perspective aims at providing an overview on recent progress concerning stability and degradation with a focus on (oxy)nitride photocatalysts and at providing insights into the opportunities and challenges coming along with the investigation of degradation processes and the attempts to improve the stability of photocatalysts.

Valérie Werner, Franky Bedoya Lora, Ziwei Chai, Julian Hörndl, Jakob Praxmair, Sandra Luber, Sophia Haussener and Simone Pokrant, Stability and degradation of (oxy)nitridephotocatalysts for solar water splitting. RSC Sustainability, May 2024.  https://doi.org/10.1039/D4SU00096J

Morphological design of LaTiO₂N particles by topotactic growth mechanisms for photocatalytic applications

Valérie Werner, Gregor A. Zickler, Simone Pokrant*, Morphological design of LaTiO₂N particles by topotactic growth mechanisms for photocatalytic applications. Progress in Solid State Chemistry 2024, Volume 73.   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.progsolidstchem.2024.100442

Exploring the Insertion Mechanisms of Metal Cations into V₃O₇·H₂O

Daniela Söllinger, Jürgen Schoiber, Philipp L. Darge, Günther J. Redhammer, Simone Pokrant*, Exploring the Insertion Mechanisms of Metal Cations into V₃O₇·H₂O. J. Phys. Chem. C 2024, 128, 5, 2255–2265.  https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.3c08056

Porous MCM-41 Silica Materials as Scaffolds for Silicon-based Lithium-ion Battery Anodes

Karl, M., Kalyakina, A., Dräger, C., Haufe, S., & Pokrant, S. (2024). Porous MCM-41 Silica Materials as Scaffolds for Silicon-based Lithium-ion Battery Anodes. ChemElectroChem.  https://doi.org/10.1002/celc.202300707

Exploring the insertion properties of Mg²⁺ in H₂V₃O₈ as a function of the water content in the organic electrolyte

D. Söllinger, G. J. Redhammer, J. Schoiber, G. A. Zickler and S. Pokrant, Exploring the insertion properties of Mg²⁺ in H₂V₃O₈ as a function of the water content in the organic electrolyte. Electrochimica Acta, 2022.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2022.141294

 

Device Characterization Methods

in-operando XRD                                             Faraday efficiency measurement Set-up                                 Measurement set-up for hydrogen                                                                                                                                                                          and oxygen evolution rates

 

Infrastructure project BioMat TEM

The functional materials group is proud of being part of the project team BioMat-TEM. The aim of this project is the upgrade of the local transmission electron microscope with a cryo unit and an energy filter (1,9 MEu). It will enable subnanometer imaging and analysis of beam sensitive materials like energy materials or biomaterials.For more information, click   here and   here.

Showcases for research enabled by the energy filter/cryo upgrade

Oxidation state determination of CoOx cocatalyst nanoparticles with a size of  5-40 nm by core loss EELS. The cocatatalysts are deposited on the photocatalyst LaTiO2N (adapted from Pokrant S.  et al., Materials Today Energy, 5, 2017, 158)

Cryo transmission electron micrograph of extracellular vesicles, scaling bar 100 nm (adapted from Corso G., Meisner-Kober N. et al., Journal of Extracellular Vesicles, 8, 2019,  1663043 )