Laboratory of Chemical Energy Carriers

The research conducted in the laboratory is focused on the new materials which can be used for storage of energy. The two groups of materials are particularly explored, namely the hydrogen-rich compounds – potential chemical stores of hydrogen, and the novel ionic conductors – prospective safe and efficient electrolytes for application in electrochemical batteries.

The new synthetic methods of above-mentioned substances are developed, with the emphasis on the green and economic synthetic routes for potential industrial applications. Variable experimental methods are utilized for characterization of the prepared samples. They range from powder and single crystal diffraction techniques, NMR, FT-IR, XPS and Raman spectroscopy – to confirm their identity – to impedance spectroscopy, thermogravimetry and others – to test their application potential. The selected compounds are also characterized under extreme pressures (up. to million atmospheres). The solid-state DFT calculations (CASTEP, VASP) are a useful extension of the experimental methods.