Dear all,
The Department of Physics Cordially Invite you to the Following Colloquium:
Title: Research and Innovation for the Energy Transition in Scotland: From Materials Design to Project Development
Speaker: Alfonso Martínez-Felipe, University of Aberdeen
Date: Friday July 28th 2023, 10:00 am
Venue: BSFB, Fakulti Sains
Abstract:
The development of innovative electrolytes that can improve the efficiency of renewable energy conversion and storage will play a decisive role to reduce greenhouse emissions and reach net-zero targets globally. Liquid crystals, ionic liquid crystals, and their derivatives, hold promise as advanced materials in different renewable technologies, due to their ability to interact with, and respond to, external sources, resulting in tailor-made nanostructures. More specifically, azobenzene-containing compounds can exhibit liquid crystalline phases controllable by light excitation, via trans-to-cis photoisomerisation. In this talk, I will present our recent findings on nanostructured electrolytes based on liquid crystalline structures, developed at the School of Engineering and in collaboration with international groups. I will discuss the potential of some of these materials to harvest light and conduct ions, and new and exciting routes to optimise their performance in actual systems. As part of my presentation, I will also mention the current efforts that Scotland and the UK are making to reach net-zero targets by 2050, and the incredible opportunities for collaboration in research and innovation. I am hoping that all these topics will trigger enriching debates and new cooperation between University Malaya and Aberdeen.
About the Speaker:
Dr Alf Martinez-Felipe is senior lecturer in chemical engineering at the University of Aberdeen, when he was previously a teaching fellow at the Department of Chemistry and then lecturer at the School of Engineering. He has published 52 research papers in peer reviewed scientific journals and has presented his work in a broad range of international conferences on materials science, having an h-index of 26 and over 1700 citations. Dr Martinez-Felipe has been principal investigator in several projects funded by the UK and EU, and has strong collaborations with researchers in Europe, America, and Asia. His interests cover the design, characterisation, and testing of innovative liquid crystals, ionic liquids, and polymers that can be applied for energy conversion and storage. He is member of the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Scottish Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Association, and secretary of the British Liquid Crystal Society. He has recently joined the board of directors of the Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group, with over 260 members involved in the energy transition. Dr Martinez-Felipe is champion of the hydrogen economies’ theme at the Centre for Energy Transition, and belongs to the Just transition lab, at the University of Aberdeen. He also coordinates the MSc in Energy Transition Systems and Technologies and the MSc in Decommissioning of platforms, with the participation of lecturers from different schools across the university.
