Electrochemistry for energy: conversion, storage and integration for a self-powered society

Stability, sustainability and integration of energy devices are critical (and often disregarded) issues, since great focus is often devoted only to the achievement of efficiency records (even if these values rapidly decrease upon time). However, today's research in the energy field must be connected to concepts such as long-term stability, safety and environmental impact. In this talk, new strategies for materials design, light-induced photopolymerization processes and water-based approaches will be shown for the design and straightforward preparation of polymeric and hybrid components for different energy devices (both storage and conversion). The lecture will consider the following concepts in the renewable energy field: - The design of stable cell components for lithium and post-Li batteries; - The transition towards aqueous photovoltaics. - The use new materials for allowing the design of integrated conversion/storage systems. - Solar fuels from emerging conversion technologies. The importance of considering stability and industrial scalability as main target in the research work will be stressed, along with a real consideration of efficiency results presented in the literature.