| dc.description.abstract | The increase in atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations due to anthropogenic emissions poses imminent threats to Earth’s climate system and its most vulnerable communities. Technological innovation plays a major role in mitigating climate change by forging new pathways to generate, distribute, and utilize energy. With respect to distribution, the practice of electrochemistry is widely known as an indispensable tool for increasing the integration of renewable energy in the U.S. electrical grid; however, limited access to lithium drives the investigation of alternative alkali and alkali-earth ions, like magnesium and sodium. Here, I analyze the role of ionic transport in such beyond-lithium batteries, and leverage findings to enhance power and cycle life. With respect to utilization, electrochemical methods may also be leveraged to improve the energy efficiency of electronic devices. As opposed to the electrical gating approaches often applied for switching optoelectronic components, compensation by positive ions overcomes charge screening phenomena, enabling deeper modulation at relatively low voltages. For high rate applications, ion transport dominates reaction speed and must be considered in device design. As an extension to my study of ion transport in energy storage systems, I apply similar techniques to demonstrate visible signature control through lithium intercalation in titanium-dioxide-based metasurfaces. Switching speed and device compatibility are subsequently improved by doping with more mobile protons and further nanostructuring metasurfaces via colloidal fabrication techniques. Throughout this document, I analyze a variety of cutting-edge electrochemical devices and leverage principles of ionic transport to optimize performance according to relevant metrics, like cycle life for batteries or speed for optoelectronics. | |
