The Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering Department
invites you to a seminar by:
Dr. Stoyan Bliznakov
Associate Research Professor
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
University of Connecticut
Advanced Materials for the Next Generation Hydrogen-Based Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage Devices
The Hydrogen Economy is the economy of the near future and is the only viable alternative to the current fossil fuel-based economy. This future green economy will eliminate the greenhouse gas emissions and prevent the imminent global warming and climate change. The climate change is the most powerful driving force that governs the increased interest in the development and implementation of hydrogen-based clean energy technologies. Presently, most of the countries worldwide are investing in zero-carbon emission technologies to substantially reduce the CO2 emissions by 2030. Development of low-temperature proton exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolyzers that utilize the electricity generated from renewable energy sources to produce green hydrogen is of primary importance for boosting the implementation of the hydrogen economy. Although, the PEM fuel cells are in early stage of their commercialization further R&D is needed to improve their performance and reduce their cost. In addition, large scale hydrogen storage and transportation technologies are virtually not existing, and they need to be developed and implemented as a part of the future hydrogen infrastructure. In this talk, an overview of the presenter’s research activities in the development of advanced PEM water electrolyzers, fuel cells, and hydrogen storage materials will be given. In particular, the following three research areas will be discussed:
i) Reactive Spray Deposition Technology (RSDT) as an advanced methodology for fabrication of cost effective and durable MEAs for PEM water electrolyzers - The advantages of the RSDT will be outlined and the excellent performance of as fabricated electrolyzer cells for up to 5000 hours of operation at steady-state conditions will be demonstrated. (DOE funded project)
ii) Pt monolayer core-shell type electrocatalyst for the next generation MEAs for PEM fuel cells – The fundamentals of the Pt ML strategy will be explained, and viable scale-up methodologies will be discussed. (DOE funded project)
iii) Metal hydride (MH) intermetallic compounds as an advanced materials for high-capacity negative electrodes in rechargeable Ni-MH batteries - Charge-discharge and cycle life performance of high-capacity electrodes prepared from various classes of MH hydrogen storage alloys will be discussed. (Ph.D. Dissertation)
Biography: Dr. Stoyan Bliznakov is an Associate Research Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and an Associate Director for the Research Infrastructure at the Center for Clean Energy Engineering at UConn. He earned his Ph.D. degree in Electrochemistry from the Institute of Electrochemistry and Energy Systems at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. His Ph.D. dissertation work was aimed on development of metal hydride (MH) hydrogen storage alloys for application in rechargeable Ni-MH batteries. Following his doctoral studies, Dr. Bliznakov worked as a post-doctoral research associate in the Chemistry Department at Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY. After that his career continued as a senior research associate in the Chemistry Division at Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY. In this role, he worked on the development of novel class of catalysts (Pt ML core-shell type) for the ORR and their application in advanced membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) for proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. Currently at UConn, Dr. Bliznakov is working on DOE, NSF, NIUVT, and industry funded projects aimed on development of PEM water electrolyzers, anion exchange membrane water electrolyzers operating directly with seawater, and advanced Li-ion batteries. His research interests are in the development of electrochemical energy conversion and storage devices including water electrolyzers, fuel cells, and rechargeable batteries. Dr. Bliznakov has published over 70 papers in premier peer-reviewed journals, two book chapters, four patents, and his papers have been cited over 2200 times (h-index 22, i-10 index 37 (Google Scholar)). In addition, he has been serving as a proposal reviewer in NSF and Breakthrough Energy panels and is an invited reviewer for over 10 journals. Dr. Bliznakov is an active member of the Electrochemical Society and the American Chemical Society.
Thursday, March 23, 2023
9:30 a.m., Gant North (GN) 20
Livestream link: http://www.kaltura.com/tiny/lqwur
For more information, contact: Katie O'Keefe/Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering Department at (860) 486-4020/katie.okeefe@uconn.edu