This PhD thesis concerns developing enhanced materials for electrochemical energy storage and conversion through scalable strategies. Researchers have devoted tremendous effort to improving materials’ electrochemical performance by utilizing fascinating methods and reaching complicated nanostructures. However, these strategies are not always easily scalable for industrial-scale production and real-world applications. In contrast, in this thesis, scalable methods were used to produce high-performance materials, as described in the three main projects reported. The fabricated samples were thoroughly investigated to gain scientific insights into the impact of the used method on the materials’ physicochemical properties. First, bifunctional electrocatalysts were produced by coupling the bro...[ Read more ]

This PhD thesis concerns developing enhanced materials for electrochemical energy storage and conversion through scalable strategies. Researchers have devoted tremendous effort to improving materials’ electrochemical performance by utilizing fascinating methods and reaching complicated nanostructures. However, these strategies are not always easily scalable for industrial-scale production and real-world applications. In contrast, in this thesis, scalable methods were used to produce high-performance materials, as described in the three main projects reported. The fabricated samples were thoroughly investigated to gain scientific insights into the impact of the used method on the materials’ physicochemical properties. First, bifunctional electrocatalysts were produced by coupling the brownmillerite SrCoO_2.5 (SCO) and MoS₂ mechanochemically by ball-milling, a process that can be easily extended to the kg-scale. The heterointerfaces formed by mechanochemical coupling triggered were highly synergistic; MoS₂ acts as a proton acceptor while SCO is a hydroxyl acceptor, resulting in high activity for both the oxygen and hydrogen evolution reaction. However, producing the metastable brownmillerite SCO is lengthy, and the mechanochemical coupling strategy could be further promoted if SCO could be produced with a less time- and energy-intensive process. The ultrafast high-temperature sintering (UHS), a rapid annealing technique, was augmented with a quenching step for quickly fabricating SCO. As a result, the quenched ultrafast high-temperature sintering (qUHS) was developed and allowed to produce SCO in just 15-30 seconds. Interestingly, the catalyst fabricated by qUHS showed distinct physical properties (i.e., porosity and surface chemical state) compared to the one produced conventionally in a furnace, resulting in higher catalytic activity. Lastly, leveraging the know-how acquired in rapid annealing techniques, UHS was further explored, treating Li_1.5Al_0.5Ge_1.5(PO₄)₃ (LAGP), a solid electrolyte for Li⁺ batteries, whose production is resource-intensive. LAGP is typically produced as a glass and then crystallized by heat treatment. Eventually, LAGP solid electrolytes are consolidated by sintering in furnaces. UHS was leveraged to crystallize and sinter directly LAGP glass in 180 seconds. Furthermore, the physical and Li⁺ conduction properties of the produced LAGP solid electrolytes were characterized to assess the impact of UHS.