Postgraduate - UnitMTE5884 - Materials for energy technologies

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2015 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

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6 points, SCA Band 2, 0.125 EFTSL

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.

Level	Postgraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Engineering
Organisational Unit	Department of Materials Engineering
Offered	Clayton First semester 2015 (Day)
Coordinator(s)	Associate Professor Bjorn Winther-Jensen

Synopsis

Materials and principles for energy production, storage and conversion will be covered in detail. Topics include Light harvesting materials, Solar power conversion efficiency, Interaction of light with matter, Inorganic solar cells (crystalline silicon, amorphous silicon, CdTe, CIGS), Organic solar cells and dye-sensitised solar cells, Electro catalytic materials, Fuel-cells, Water-splitting, Photo-(electro)-catalysis and modern battery systems, Li-ion cells and Li metal cells, Metal-air batteries, Flow batteries, Advanced electrolytes, Principles in capacitors, Carbon materials, Nanotubes, Graphene, Mesoporous materials, Hydrogen storage materials and electrochemical methods.

Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:

explain why the energy landscape is changing and the role materials will play in alternate energy technologies in the broad areas of energy production, storage and conversion
explain the theory underpinning photo-(electro)-catalysis and photo driven water spitting
describe energy storage materials including batteries, capacitors, hydrogen storage materials and identify the benefits and shortcomings of each
learn advanced skills in electrochemical methods such as measuring the CV and impedance of electroactive materials, over potential, columbic efficiency and capacity
appreciate the potential for solar energy to contribute to sustainable power generation
understand the general operating principles of photovoltaic devices (solar cells)
understand what properties are required for a material to be efficiently utilised in a solar cell
measure solar cell performance and determine the power conversion efficiency of a device
understand the structure of efficient crystalline silicon, amorphous silicon, CdTe, CIGS, organic and dye-sensitised solar cells
understand what limits the power conversion efficiency of conventional solar cells and appreciate strategies for developing next generation cells that overcome these limitations.

Assessment

Final examination (3 hours): 60%
Internal continuous assessment: 40%

Workload requirements

4 hours lectures/tutorials, 2 hours of laboratory classes and 6 hours of private study.

Chief examiner(s)

Professor Nick Birbilis

Prerequisites

None

Co-requisites

None

Prohibitions

MTE4599