Significant challenges remain before lithium-ion batteries can support the decarbonization of the transportation and power sectors required to avert catastrophic climate change. The energy density of these batteries must be increased, while decreasing the price, and maintaining or increasing their lifespan. To improve the practical energy density of existing materials,...
Oxides are a versatile class of materials with a wide range of electronic, optical, and magnetic properties. This makes them ideal for use in a multitude of functional devices for oxide electronics, electrochemical conversion, and storage. The overall performance of these devices is governed by atomic scale charge and mass...
Water scarcity and extreme weather present substantial risks for agricultural production on the U.S. West Coast. Farmers adapt to water supply uncertainties and climate risks by changing water application rates, adjusting irrigated acres, adopting more efficient irrigation technology, and altering crop mix. Many policy options are available to attain sustainable...
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the leading causes of cancer death in the United States. Patients with cirrhosis are more likely to develop HCC. More than 80% of HCC patients are found have preexisting cirrhosis. The prevalence of cirrhosis increased from 0.26% to 0.3.% between 1999 to 2010 and...
Heterogeneous catalysis modulates the rate and selectivity of reaction processes by
stabilizing a series of intermediate states on solid surfaces, facilitating the production
of many commodity chemicals modern society relies upon. Conventional, thermal
catalytic processes—conducted at elevated temperatures and pressures—source
thermal, mechanical, and chemical potential energy from carbon-hydrogen bonds—
combustion...
It is desirable for complex engineered systems to perform missions efficiently and economically, even when these missions' complex, variable, long-term operational profiles make it likely for hazards to arise. It is thus important to design these systems to be resilient so that they will actively prevent and recover from hazards...
There is an emerging interest in developing wearable electronics as a platform, which
provides the flexibility of a wearable while maintaining its promising functionality as smart textiles. Metal-halide semiconductors are attractive materials with tunable optical and electrical properties. Researchers have widely studied and applied it for advanced
photonics and optoelectronic...
The continued long-term use of fossil fuels as a primary energy source has resulted in dramatic increases in greenhouse gas emissions and the associated concerns of climate change and environmental pollution. A key strategy to circumvent these issues is a global shift away from fossil fuels toward renewable energy sources....
The grand plan of carbon neutralization and COP26 in Glasgow require a quick shift of energy sources from conventional fossil fuel to a more renewable substitute such as wind, or solar energy. However, the intermittency of those renewable energy sources does not meet the demand of the energy, which requires...
Water electrolysis plays a pivotal role in achieving a green hydrogen economy by sourcing electricity from intermittent renewable sources. However, the efficiency of the electrolysis process is limited by the sluggish oxygen evolution reaction (OER) kinetics, whereas the kinetics of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) are more facile. This thesis...