Event Date
METRANS Spring 2023 Research Seminar: Recycling Diesel Soot Particles for Use as Activated Carbon in Lithium-ion Batteries
Event Overview
The wide acceptance of the serious health effects associated with combustion-derived air pollutants has led to an extensive range of nanotoxicology studies of the environmental emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels. Particulate matter (PM) is a major air pollutant, which has been linked to premature cardiovascular and respiratory deaths in metropolitan areas, as well as lung cancer. Since the recycling of these highly concentrated hazardous carcinogenic materials is not yet financially viable, tons of these air pollutants are released into air every day. The uncontrolled release of PM into the environment is the second largest contributor to human-induced climate warming, after carbon dioxide. This study provides a viable pathway towards a sustainable energy environment by converting an abundant toxic pollutant into a valuable electrode material for Li-ion batteries. The researchers' recent efforts to develop carbon-free combustion using ammonia fuels will also be discussed.
Speakers
Dr. Stephen Cronin received his B.S. in physics from NYU and PhD in physics from MIT under supervision of Professor Mildred Dresselhaus followed by postdoctoral research in Professor Michael Tinkham’s lab at Harvard University. Professor Cronin joined the Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical Engineering-Electrophysics at the University of Southern California in August 2005 and has earned several awards for his research accomplishments, including the NSF CAREER Award in 2009, the AFOSR Young Investigator Award in 2008, the Charles Lee Powell Foundation Research Award in 2006, and the James H. Zumberge Research and Innovation Award. His research spans a broad range of interrelated topics in physics, chemistry, materials science and nanotechnology.