G.P. Das from the Department of Materials Sciences at the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science in Jadavpur, Kolkata, India, will be the featured speaker at a Department of Physics and Astronomy colloquium. The talk is titled, 2D Materials for Energy Storage: an Emerging Scenario.

In this talk, Das will start with an overview of the essential requirements for storage of renewable energies, from the point of view of a materials scientist. He then will focus on some nanostructures, in particular carbon based nanostructures, that can be used for efficient storage of hydrogen and also as metal-free catalysts for low temperature fuel cells. First principles density functional based simulation prove extremely handy in designing such novel materials with desired combination of properties. After presenting some case studies, Das will wrap up by arguing how materials scientists, who sometime might sound futuristic, can play a crucial role in building up a sustainable energy economy.

There will be refreshments starting at 3:30 p.m.