El Instituto CINQUIMA recibe al profesor Puro Jena, de la Universidad Virginia Commonwealth
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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 fromthe University of California at Riverside in 1970. After postdoctoral and visiting appointments at StateUniversity of New York, Dalhousie University, University of British Columbia, Northwestern University andArgonne National Laboratory, he joined Michigan Technological University as an Associate Professor ofPhysics in 1978. He moved to Virginia Commonwealth University in 1980 where he was promoted to FullProfessor in 1982. Dr. Jena has remained at VCU ever since with the exception of a year (1986-87) as aProgram Director at the Materials Science Division of the National Science Foundation, and a year (2007-08) asa Jefferson Science Fellow and Senior Science Advisor at the US Department of State. Dr. Jena is Fellow of theAmerican Physical Society (2000). He was a member of the Executive Committee in 2003 that drafted thereport on the “Basic Research Needs for the Hydrogen Economy” for the Department of Energy. Dr. Jena isthe author of more tan 600 papers including 13 edited books. According to Google Scholar, he has beencited over 25.000 times, with H-factor of 78.Breve resumen de las conferencias:Many faces of carbonCarbon is one of the most fascinating elements in the periodic table. It not only forms the basis of all life on theEarth but also it is important to technology. The unique properties of carbon emerge from its ability to formdiverse spn (1 < n < 3) bonds. Until 1960’s graphite with sp2 and diamond with sp3 bonding were the mostcommon 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 erain carbon science. In recent years many new meta-stable forms of carbon exhibiting a mixture sp1, sp2 and/or sp3bonding pattern have also emerged. In this talk I will focus on the carbon-based materials that have beenstudied in our group. These include functionalized C60 fullerenes for hydrogen storage, semi-hydrogenatedgraphene for metal-free ferromagnet, metal-organic complexes with large electron affinity, 3D metallic carbonmade of hybridized sp2 and sp3 bonded atoms, and a Cairo-tilling inspired quasi-2D penta-graphene made ofonly carbon pentagons. All calculations have been carried out using density functional theory. Thermodynamicstability of the above carbon-based materials is confirmed by total energy calculations as well as quantummolecular dynamics. Potential applications of some of these materials will also be discussedSuper-ion Inspired Materials for Energy Storage and ConversionWith limited supply of fossil fuels and their adverse effect on the environment, finding materials to harvest andstore clean energy is one of the challenges in the 21st century. Solar energy is an ideal renewable source, but itsharvesting and storage requires efficient and environmentally friendly materials for solar cells and batteries. Oneclass of such materials is based on super-ion perovskites. Hybrid perovskites composed of organic cations andinorganic 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 theoreticalcalculations and molecular dynamics we have analyzed this instability and we have shown how this can beovercome by replacing halogens with cluster ions, without compromising their properties. These cluster ionsmimic the chemistry of halogens and have electron affinities similar or greater than those of halogens. Antiperovskitesrecently used as solid electrolytes in Li-ion batteries can be modified to increase their superionicconductivity by replacing alkali atoms with superalkali ions and halogens with superhalogens. I will also discusshow 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 rationaldesign can lead to materials with unprecedented properties.-