ND Energy Faculty Luncheon Seminars are held monthly with interested faculty to facilitate cross-disciplinary research collaborations and to enable development of proposal ideas for upcoming funding opportunities. All interested faculty from diverse fields are invited to attend.

The discussion topic for this luncheon will be centered around a presentation by Prof. Prashant V. Kamat on "Graphene and Beyond. 2D Hybrid Materials for Energy Conversion and Storage."

This 35-40 minute talk will be followed by discussion with Prof. Kamat focused on (1) cross-disciplinary basic research needs, (2) potential avenues for external and internal collaborations, (3) funding sources to target, and if everyone is agreeable, (4) 'follow-up actions' that we can track. With all the faculty engaging in the discussion part of this luncheon after the talk, we expect to have a very stimulating and inspiring exchange of ideas.

For more information on the ND Energy Faculty Luncheon Seminars, contact Subhash L. Shinde at sshinde@nd.edu.

Abstract

Graphene and other 2D materials are making a comeback especially in the area of energy conversion. Graphene based materials are expected to dominate the product development of Batteries, Supercapacitors, Transparent Electrodes and Integrated Circuits. The global graphene market revenue is predicted to witness a 35% growth in this decade (to reach a market share of $1.2 billion by 2030 from $84.7 million in 2020). The chemical exfoliation of 2D materials offers the convenience of modification with metal and semiconductor nanostructures and tailor the properties of hybrid materials. The talk will present key features of these hybrid materials and their applications in solar cells, storage batteries and desalination of water.

Biography

Prashant V. Kamat is a Rev. John A. Zahm, C.S.C., Professor of Science in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Radiation Laboratory at the University of Notre Dame. He is also a Concurrent Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. He earned his doctoral degree (1979) in Physical Chemistry from the Bombay University, and postdoctoral research at Boston University (1979-1981) and University of Texas at Austin (1981-1983). He joined Notre Dame in 1983. Professor Kamat has for more than three decades worked to build bridges between physical chemistry and materials science to develop advanced nanomaterials that promise cleaner and more efficient light energy conversion.

He has directed DOE funded solar photochemistry research for the past 35+ years. In addition to large multidisciplinary interdepartmental and research center programs, he has actively worked with industry-sponsored research. He has served on many national panels on nanotechnology and energy conversion processes. He has published more than 500 scientific papers that have been well recognized by the scientific community (76000 citations, h-index 141 –Source Web of Science). Thomson-Reuters has featured him as one of the most cited researchers each year during 2014-2021.

He is currently serving as the founding Editor-in-Chief of ACS Energy Letters. He has also served as the deputy editor of the Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters (2010-2016). He is a member of the advisory board of several scientific journals. He has served as Chairman of the Fullerene (now Nanocarbon) Division of the Electrochemical Society from 2000-2004. He was awarded Honda-Fujishima Lectureship award by the Japanese Photochemical Society in 2006, CRSI medal by the Chemical Research Society of India in 2011 and Langmuir lectureship award in 2013. He is a Fellow of the Electrochemical Society (ECS), American Chemical Society (ACS) American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and Pravasi Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy.