Electrodeposition is widely being used in the fabrication of materials and devices, and most recently this technique has been successfully applied to the fabrication of various components in energy conversion systems. This course will offer the opportunity to students, researchers and practitioners with a variety of technical backgrounds to be introduced for the first time or to refresh their understanding of the fundamentals of the technique, as well as to gain a perspective of its potentials in nanostructure fabrication, with particular focus on energy conversion and storage application. In this course the attendees will gain practical knowledge of the methods and techniques used in the synthesis of catalysts for fuel cells, components for batteries and capacitors, and radiation absorbers for photovoltaic and photelectrochemical devices.

Topics to be covered

The course will be structured in two modules:

• Fundamentals of electrodeposition
  • Thermodynamics and kinetics
  • Thin film formation: the art and science of controlling microstructure and morphology
  • Electrochemical engineering aspects
• Electrodeposition for energy conversion devices
  • Surface control electrochemical film formation down to the single atomic layer: Surface Limited Replacement Reaction and Electrochemical Atomic Layer Epitaxy
  • Electrodeposition of electrocatalyst materials
  • How to produce interpenetrating structures: application to batteries and supercapacitors
  • Thin film and nanostructured radiation absorbers for photovoltaic and photoelectrochemical devices.