PHOTOINTERCALATION SOLID ELECTROLYTE STORAGE CELL

THE PROPOSED PROGRAM IS DIRECTED TOWARDS EVALUATING THE TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY OF APPLYING SOLID POLYMER ELECTROLYTES (SPE) IN NOVEL ALL SOLID-STATE PHOTOELECTROCHEMICAL STORAGE CELLS. THE UNIQUENESS OF THIS APPROACH LIES IN THE USE OF PHOTOCATHODES WHICH WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO NOT ONLY GENERATE REDUCED REDOX SPECIES, AT THEIR INTERFACE WITH THE SOLID ELECTROLYTE, BUT ALSO WILL STORE SUCH SPECIES VIA INTERCALATION WITHIN THEIR BULK. THE PROGRAM WOULD INVESTIGATE SOLID-STATE JUNCTIONS BETWEEN P-DOPED GROUP IV TRANSITION METAL DICHALCOGENIDES (EG. ZRSE2,HFSZ) AND SOLID POLYMER ELECTROLYTES SUCH A POLY (ETHYLENE OXIDE) (PEO) OR NAFION BASED MATERIALS. PARTICULAR INTEREST WILL BE ON DETERMINING THE REVERSIBILITY OF SUCH SOLID-STATE INTERFACE TO THE INTERCALATION AND DE-INTERCALATION OF THE COUPLES CU+/CUO AND FE2+/FEO. VARIOUS SOLID-STATE CELLS WILL BE FABRICATED AND BOTH PHOTOELECTROCHEMICALLY AND ELECTROCHEMICALLY INVESTIGATED. THESE WILL CONSIST OF THE GENERAL CONFIGURATIONS: P-MYO.2X2/PEO,KCI/PEO,KCII2/SNO2-IN203 GLASS, P-MY0.2X2/PEO,NASCN/ PEO,NASCN,NA2S,S/SN02-IN03 GLASS AND P-MY0.2X2/NAFION/NAFION,RU+3/+2/ AU,P-MY0. 2X2/NAFION/NAFION,FET3/T2/AU WHERE M= ZR OR HF; Y= FE OR CU; X = SE OR S.