Chapter 10 - Postface: a path to sustainable energy by 2030 and beyond. Role of new electrocatalysts in the development of a sustainability platform

Abstract

The preface deals with how to best manage the global transition away from fossil fuels by generating new electrocatalysts to synthesize fuels. One example is related to ammonia synthesis from nitrogen and hydrogen using the Haber-Bosch process is capital and energy-intensive and not carbon-neutral and contributes to carbon dioxide emissions and potentially global warming and acid rain. The preface highlights a few areas of the sustainable energy spectrum, such as the electrochemical synthesis of ammonia, electroactive catalysts, and lithium-ion batteries. The concept of single-atom catalysis using Pt or Ni on graphene supports is one avenue where ammonia can be electrochemically generated with high faradic efficiency but at one atmospheric pressure. In lithium-ion batteries (LIB), the intercalation of Li+ into the host structure without causing deformation is an important design criterion. During discharging, the negative charge carriers travel from the negative to the positive terminal. The metal cations are at a lower oxidation state at the positive electrode. Artificial intelligence can aggregate density functional theory-based calculations on energy densities for Li intercalculation in layered oxide, spinel oxides, and other more complex phosphates, silicates, and other topographies. The structural stability, redox potential, and ion mobilities define the maximum charging and discharging, ion storage, and stability of the different chemistries employed, and how LIB can contribute to lower greenhouse gas emissions and easier transition to renewable resources.