PhD Candidate
EMMANOYIL PERVOLARAKIS
emper@materials.uoc.gr
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Title
Computational Design of Metal Nanoparticles for Energy Applications
Supervisor
REMEDIAKIS IOANNIS, Associate Professor, Materials Science & Technology Dept. - UOC
Committee Members
KOPIDAKIS GEORGIOS, Associate Professor, Materials Science & Technology Dept. - UOC
STOUMPOS KONSTANTINOS, Associate Professor, Materials Science & Technology Dept. - UOC
Abstract
The need to switch to renewable energy sources is greater than ever and consequently it is of great importance to improve the efficiency and/or to lower the cost of already existing technologies like fuel cells and photovoltaics. In fuel cells the most common catalyst used is Pt, which is quite expensive and renders their commercial applications improbable. In photovoltaics a common practice to improve the efficiency is to introduce metal nanoparticles in the semiconducting layer but the underlying mechanism of the nanoparticle contribution is not fully understood. In this PhD thesis, the properties and role of Pt in fuel cells will be studied using ab-initio calculations and a wide range of metals and metal alloys is going to be explored as less expensive alternatives to Pt. Additionally, the electronic and optical properties of metal nanoparticles used in photovoltaics will be investigated using multi-scale simulations and the mechanism with which they contribute as well as the effect of the shape of the nanoparticles on these properties will be explored.