School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering
M. Grant Norton
Nanomaterials for Converting and Storing Energy
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A nanometer (nm) is one billionth of a meter. At this scale, the behavior of many materials is quite different from that in bulk form. These behaviors, coupled with the enormous surface areas available at this scale, provide unique opportunities for applications in many areas of technology.
In alternative energy production and use, the properties of nanomaterials make them suitable for applications such as hydrogen storage, high efficiency catalysts for fuel cells, and alternative approaches to harvesting abundant and infinite solar radiation. Dr. Norton’s research group has synthesized nanoparticles from a number of precious metals including platinum, gold, and palladium with sizes less than 10 nm. When these nanoparticles are formed on the surface of carbon nanotubes they have potential application as catalysts in direct methanol fuel cells.
Current solar cell technology, based on semiconductors such as silicon and gallium arsenide, suffers from low efficiency and high cost. Alternative technology to capture solar energy uses metal nanoparticle-polymer composites. These absorb light by the excitation of surface plasmons in the nanometer-sized metal particles. The resonance frequency depends on the particle size, shape, and metal type.
Working as part of an interdisciplinary international team, Dr. Norton’s research group has produced novel composites with broad absorption in the visible and near infrared regions of the solar spectrum. This month they reported that the absorption of silver-Teflon nanocomposites can be tailored to match the full solar spectrum. This important finding may lead to a new generation of high-efficiency low-cost solar cells.
A major requirement for the use of hydrogen as a fuel in automotive and other applications is that it can be efficiently stored and subsequently released. Theoretical studies have shown that amorphous surfaces with high ionic character should offer ideal sites for hydrogen attachment. Currently Dr. Norton’s group is able to grow silica nanowires and nanopsprings over large areas on a variety of surfaces. These one-dimensional amorphous nanostructures store large amounts of hydrogen, which can be accessed at temperatures suited to a range of applications.
Contact
Information
M. Grant Norton, Ph.D.
Professor
School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering
Washington State University
P.O. Box 642920
Pullman, WA 99164-2920
Telephone: 509-335-4207
E-mail: mg_norton@wsu.edu
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