Abstract: With several recent advancements in rechargeable battery technology the new generation energy storage systems are comprised of electrodes with multi-functionalities for unconventional device applications [1]. For instance, Li-ion batteries are made flexible and shape conformal to power fully flexible consumer electronic devices such as wearable electronics, flexible displays etc. Design of highly flexible battery requires judicious engineering of electrodes to mitigate stress concentration and crack formation. We demonstrated ultra-flexible Li-ion batteries by designing CNT microstructures, loaded with nanocrystals, which decouple the stress induced during bending between the collector electrode and energy-storage material. These unique light weight electrodes not only alleviate stress, but also bring the active particles outside of the binder, which dramatically enhances the device performance [2-3]. Emerging autonomous electronic devices require increasingly compact energy generation and storage solutions. Merging these two functionalities in a single device would significantly increase their volumetric performance, however this is challenging due to material and manufacturing incompatibilities between energy harvesting and storage materials. We recently demonstrated highly versatile and hybrid photo-rechargeable energy storage devices where the functionality of rechargeable battery and solar cell are merged together in a single optoelectronic device termed as photo-battery to avail advantages of both technologies simultaneously [4-7].

References:
[1] S. Chu, A. Majumdar, Opportunities and challenges for a sustainable energy future, Nature, 488 (2012) 294-303.
[2] Shahab Ahmad, D. Copic, C. George, M. De Volder, Hierarchical Assemblies of Carbon Nanotubes for Ultraflexible Li-ion Batteries, Advanced Materials, 28 (2016) 6705-6710.
[3] S. Jessl, D. Copic, S. Engelke, Shahab Ahmad and M. De Volder, “Hydrothermal Coating of Patterned Carbon Nanotube Forest for Structured Lithium‐Ion Battery Electrodes”, Small (2019) 1901201 (1-6).
[4] Shahab Ahmad, C. George, D.J. Beesley, J.J. Baumberg, M. De Volder, Photo-Rechargeable Organo-Halide Perovskite Batteries, Nano Letters, 18 (2018) 1856-1862.
[5] Shahab Ahmad, P. K. Kanaujia, W. Niu, J. J. Baumberg and G. V. Prakash, “In-situ intercalation dynamics in inorganic-organic layered perovskite thin films”, ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces 6 (2014) 10238.
[6] Shahab Ahmad, P. K. Kanaujia, H. J. Beeson, A. Abate, F. Deschler, D. Credgington, U. Steiner, G. V. Prakash and J.J. Baumberg, “Strong photocurrent from 2D excitons in solution-processed stacked perovskite semiconductor sheets”, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 7 (2015) 25227.
[7] A. Sadhanala, Shahab Ahmad, B. Zhao, S.E. Dutton, F. Deschler, P. M. Pearce, N. Giesbrecht, R. L. Z. Hoye, K. C. Goedel, T. Bein, P. Docampo, M. De Volder and R.H. Friend. “Blue-Green Colour Tunable Solution Processable Organolead Chloride-Bromide Mixed Halide Perovskites for Optoelectronic Applications”, Nano Letters 15 (2015) 6095.

Biography: Dr. Shahab Ahmad is working as an Assistant Professor at Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Jodhpur and Visiting Scientist at the University of Cambridge, UK. Shahab has received PhD in Physics from IIT-Delhi, India in 2014. During PhD he has been visiting researcher at NanoPhotonics Centre, Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, UK. He has worked as a post-doctoral fellow at NanoManufacturing Centre, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, UK from 2014-2017. Shahab has worked as an Assistant Professor at Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Jamia Millia Islamia (Central University), New Delhi, India for 2 years. So far he has authored more than 35 research articles in international reputed journals including Advanced Materials, Nano Letters, Advanced Energy Materials, Nature, ACS Nano, JACS, Small, Chemical Science etc. At IIT Jodhpur, Shahab is leading the ‘Advanced Energy Materials Group’ as PI and his present research interest includes Energy Storage Devices, Photo-Rechargeable Li-ion Batteries, Flexible and Stretchable Electrodes for next generation Energy devices, Optoelectronic and Photonic studies of Metal Halide Organo-Perovskites and Solar Water Splitting for H2 production.