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SHORT DESCRIPTION
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In this thesis the cathode side of a secondary zinc//air battery (ZAB) will be studied. On the cathode side a three-contact electrode is essential for performing the two fundamental reactions in this battery type, the oxidation reduction reaction (ORR) and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). New bifunctional catalysts for ORR and OER will be synthesized and studied in a real battery device. The thesis work will incorporate the synthesis of catalyst materials using wet chemical and solid-state approaches. The newly developed catalysts will be characterized by various materials characterization techniques like Raman, XRD, XPS, TG and electron microscopy. In addition, electrochemical characterisations will be pursued (e.g. cyclovoltammetry and RDE studies). Moreover, you will learn to assemble real zinc/air cells in which your catalysts will work and have to prove their applicability. In addition, you will work with carbon nanomaterials which will be used as porous support for the catalyst. You might learn how to synthesize porous carbon materials and characterize their porosity. The latter is important for using these materials as gas diffusion electrodes in ZAB devices. On the anode side of the ZAB you will work with Zn nanoparticles, their generation and characterization. Alltogether, the project of this master thesis is based on a subtle interplay of synthetic work as well as applying sophisticated characterization techniques which allow an insight into the microscopic structure of the chemistry going on on the cathode and anode side of a ZIB.
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