• El Instituto CINQUIMA recibe al profesor Puro Jena, de la Universidad Virginia Commonwealth

  • Inicio: Jueves, 12 julio 12:00
    Fin: Viernes, 13 julio 14:00
  • Edificio Quifima Sala de Conferencias
  • El Instituto CINQUIMA de la Universidad de Valladolid recibe los días 12 y 13 de julio a Puro Jena, de la Universidad Virginia Commonwealth.

    El profesor Jena impartirá dos conferencias: "Many faces of carbon“, el jueves 12 de julio, y "Super-ion Inspired Materials for Energy Storage and Conversion”, el viernes 13 de julio.    
    Las conferencias tendrán lugar a las 12:00 h en la sala de conferencias del Edificio QUIFIMA (en el Campus Miguel Delibes)
    La entrada es libre hasta completar el aforo.
     
     
     
     
    Curriculum Vitae:
    Dr. Puru Jena, Distinguished Professor of Physics at Virginia Commonwealth University received B. Sc. (Hons)
    and M. Sc. in Physics from Utkal University, India in 1964 and 1966, respectively, and Ph. D. in Physics from
    the University of California at Riverside in 1970. After postdoctoral and visiting appointments at State
    University of New York, Dalhousie University, University of British Columbia, Northwestern University and
    Argonne National Laboratory, he joined Michigan Technological University as an Associate Professor of
    Physics in 1978. He moved to Virginia Commonwealth University in 1980 where he was promoted to Full
    Professor in 1982. Dr. Jena has remained at VCU ever since with the exception of a year (1986-87) as a
    Program Director at the Materials Science Division of the National Science Foundation, and a year (2007-08) as
    a Jefferson Science Fellow and Senior Science Advisor at the US Department of State. Dr. Jena is Fellow of the
    American Physical Society (2000). He was a member of the Executive Committee in 2003 that drafted the
    report on the “Basic Research Needs for the Hydrogen Economy” for the Department of Energy. Dr. Jena is
    the author of more tan 600 papers including 13 edited books. According to Google Scholar, he has been
    cited over 25.000 times, with H-factor of 78.
     
    Breve resumen de las conferencias:
    Many faces of carbon
    Carbon is one of the most fascinating elements in the periodic table. It not only forms the basis of all life on the
    Earth but also it is important to technology. The unique properties of carbon emerge from its ability to form
    diverse spn (1 < n < 3) bonds. Until 1960’s graphite with sp2 and diamond with sp3 bonding were the most
    common forms of carbon known. The discovery of one-dimensional (1D) chain-like polymer called “carbyne”
    in 1960 and later zero-dimensional (0D) carbon fullerenes, 1D carbon nanotubes, and two-dimensional (2D)
    graphene, all with novel properties characteristic of their reduced dimensionality and size, has ushered a new era
    in carbon science. In recent years many new meta-stable forms of carbon exhibiting a mixture sp1, sp2 and/or sp3
    bonding pattern have also emerged. In this talk I will focus on the carbon-based materials that have been
    studied in our group. These include functionalized C60 fullerenes for hydrogen storage, semi-hydrogenated
    graphene for metal-free ferromagnet, metal-organic complexes with large electron affinity, 3D metallic carbon
    made of hybridized sp2 and sp3 bonded atoms, and a Cairo-tilling inspired quasi-2D penta-graphene made of
    only carbon pentagons. All calculations have been carried out using density functional theory. Thermodynamic
    stability of the above carbon-based materials is confirmed by total energy calculations as well as quantum
    molecular dynamics. Potential applications of some of these materials will also be discussed
    Super-ion Inspired Materials for Energy Storage and Conversion
    With limited supply of fossil fuels and their adverse effect on the environment, finding materials to harvest and
    store clean energy is one of the challenges in the 21st century. Solar energy is an ideal renewable source, but its
    harvesting and storage requires efficient and environmentally friendly materials for solar cells and batteries. One
    class of such materials is based on super-ion perovskites. Hybrid perovskites composed of organic cations and
    inorganic anions have emerged as the next generation solar cells with power conversion efficiency above 20%.
    But the instability of these materials when exposed to moisture is a challenging problem. Using theoretical
    calculations and molecular dynamics we have analyzed this instability and we have shown how this can be
    overcome by replacing halogens with cluster ions, without compromising their properties. These cluster ions
    mimic the chemistry of halogens and have electron affinities similar or greater than those of halogens. Antiperovskites
    recently used as solid electrolytes in Li-ion batteries can be modified to increase their superionic
    conductivity by replacing alkali atoms with superalkali ions and halogens with superhalogens. I will also discuss
    how lessons learnt from cluster science can help in the synthesis of halogen-free electrolytes in Li-ion batteries.
    A new class of solids with clusters as building blocks can usher a new era in materials science where rational
    design can lead to materials with unprecedented properties.