Scanning probes for new energy materials: Probing local structure and function
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Scanning probes and the energy challenge Meeting the energy needs of our maturing global civilization in an economically, environmentally, and geopolitically sustainable fashion is one of the most pressing technological challenges facing humanity today. We have heard the projections so often, sometimes we risk becoming complacent. Nevertheless, global energy consumption is on track to rise over 50% by 2035.1 Materials scientists have a critical role to play in meeting this challenge, and major research efforts are under way to develop new technologies with the potential to dramatically improve the way we transform, store, and use energy. Scanning probe microscopy (SPM)2,3 is going to play a critical role in the search for new energy technologies for the reason that so many nascent energy technologies are based on nanostructured materials. For instance, organic solar cells require a large internal surface area that is currently achieved with a self-assembled nanostructured bulk heterojunction,4 and nanoscale colloids are being used to fabricate inks for printing copper indium gallium selenide5 and copper zinc tin sulfide solar cells.6 Quantum dots are also under intense study for use in potential solar cells,7 and nanostructured electrodes are critical to efficient dye-sensitized solar cells.8 Strategies for energy harvesting based on artificial photosynthesis from biological or bio-inspired materials involve nanoscale control.9 Nanostructured composites and superlattices are being studied as thermoelectric materials for converting waste heat
to electricity,10 and nanostructured catalysts are being developed for solar fuel generation,11 while metal nanostructures are being studied for enhancing light harvesting in both photovoltaic and photochemical energy conversion devices.12 On the energy storage side, nanostructured electrodes are being used to increase capacity and improve stability of both batteries13 and super capacitors.14 Nanostructured catalysts can be useful for the transformation of chemical products in a more energy efficient and environmentally friendly manner.15 SPM methods are making important contributions to energy-related materials technologies because of the unique opportunities that they offer to map nanoscale functionality such as surface potential, photoconductivity, catalytic activity, dielectric function, and even ion motion. The ability to image function on the nanoscale is being used to elucidate structure/function relationships in nanostructured materials for energy, often on working devices, and with exceptional resolution. Figure 1 illustrates a fraction of the wide variety of nanostructured materials currently being studied for energy applications, in which one might imagine using functional imaging to reveal local structure-function correlations. Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) is the oldest technique in what is nowadays the broad field of SPM. Hence, after 25 years of routine application of atomic resolution STM, it is not surprising that properties determined from variants of STM ha
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