April 22 - 26, 2024
Seattle, Washington
May 7 - 9, 2024 (Virtual)

Event Supporters

2024 MRS Spring Meeting
EN11.05.01

Computational Approaches for Clean Energy Materials: Defect Graph Neural Networks, Equilibria with Interacting Defects and Interface Structure Prediction

When and Where

Apr 25, 2024
10:30am - 11:00am
Room 335, Level 3, Summit

Presenter(s)

Co-Author(s)

Stephan Lany1

National Renewable Energy Laboratory1

Abstract

Stephan Lany1

National Renewable Energy Laboratory1
Currently, 80% of the global final energy consumption occurs in form of fuels and only 20% as electricity. On the other hand, renewable energy additions come almost exclusively in the form of electricity (dominantly photovoltaics and wind). Thus, a successful energy transition will require enormous growth in renewables, sufficient to convert excess electricity into fuels, as well as the development of non-electricity based solar fuel technologies. As much as photovoltaic capacities have grown over the past 20 years, it is far from clear that current technologies and materials are up to the task to grow from here by yet another factor 100 until 2050. Therefore, sustained research efforts on emerging inorganic semiconductors for solar electricity and fuels are essential for facing the double challenge of climate change and energy security. Computational materials science can make important contributions, guiding and supporting research activities through both materials search and discovery and through detailed studies that help to develop a mechanistic understanding of materials performance and bottlenecks. This presentation will highlight three recent computational projects with relevance for photovoltaics and solar fuels (1) Defect graph neural networks (dGNN) for materials discovery in solar thermochemical hydrogen (STCH) [1]. The dGNN approach facilitates broad and fast materials screening for defect properties. (2) Modeling highly off-stoichiometric systems by evaluating the free energy of defect interaction [2]. This approach allows quantitative prediction of H<sub>2</sub> production in complex STCH oxides. (3) First-principles atomic structure prediction for interfaces [3]. This work showed how an atomically thin CdCl<sub>2</sub> interlayer phase enables in principle ideal electron transport across the incommensurate SnO<sub>2</sub>/CdTe interface.<br/>[1] M.D. Witman, A. Goyal, T. Ogitsu, A.H. McDaniel, S. Lany, Nat. Comput. Sci. (2023).<br/>DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43588-023-00495-2<br/>[2] A. Goyal, M.D. Sanders, R.P. O'Hayre, S. Lany (submitted).<br/>[3] A. Sharan, M. Nardone, D. Krasikov, N. Singh, S. Lany, Appl. Phys. Rev. 9, 041411 (2022).<br/>DOI: https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0104008

Keywords

interface | oxide | thermodynamics

Symposium Organizers

Andrea Crovetto, Technical University of Denmark
Annie Greenaway, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Xiaojing Hao, Univ of New South Wales
Vladan Stevanovic, Colorado School of Mines

Session Chairs

Geoffroy Hautier
Rachel Woods-Robinson

In this Session