Event
Nanocolloquium 3: Exploring Atomic Layer Deposition for Catalysis and Energy Applications
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Room 2110, Chemical and Nuclear Engineering Bldg.
Professor Sheryl Ehrman
(301) 405-1917
sehrman@umd.edu
Special Spring Break Seminar!
Exploring Atomic Layer Deposition for Catalysis and Energy Applications
Presented by Professor Stacey F. Bent
Department of Chemical Engineering
Stanford University
Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a method for depositing thin films of a variety of materials using an alternating series of self-limiting reactions between gas phase precursors and the substrate. Over the past several years, ALD has grown steeply in popularity as a choice for the semiconductor industry. However, ALDs real potential for impact may lie in even more novel applications, including those in alternative energy and catalysis. This presentation will describe our recent studies using ALD for the deposition of catalyst films and particles. The development of an area selective ALD process will also be presented in which the substrate surface is spatially modified with an organic monolayer to control the ALD growth process in the lateral dimension. For solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), we have applied area selective ALD to deposit a patterned Pt mesh structure that acts as an electrocatalyst and current collector, with the goal of improving SOFC performance at low temperatures. We have also studied the infiltration of very high surface area carbon aerogels with a catalyst by ALD, and will report on the catalytic activity of this new material.
