Atomic layer deposition for electrochemical energy generation and storage systems

Clean renewable energy sources (e. g., solar, wind, and hydro) offers the most promising solution to energy and environmental sustainability. On the other hand, owing to the spatial and temporal variations of renewable energy sources, and transportation and mobility needs, high density energy storage and efficient energy distribution to points of use is also critical. Moreover, it is challenging to scale up those processes in a cost-effective way. Electrochemical processes, including photoelectrochemical devices, batteries, fuel cells, super capacitors, and others, have shown promise for addressing many of the abovementioned challenges. Materials with designer properties, especially the interfacial properties, play critical role for the performance of those devices. Atomic layer deposition is capable of precise engineering material properties on atomic scale. In this review, we focus on the current state of knowledge of the applications, perspective and challenges of atomic layer deposition process on the electrochemical energy generation and storage devices and processes. (C) 2012 American Vacuum Society. [DOI: 10.1116/1.3672027]