:: Functional Hybrid Nanomaterials Laboratory ::

In order to address the challenge of climate change, our research group seeks to understand nanometer-scale phenomena based on structure-property relationship of materials and applies them to solve energy and environmental problems. Taking advantages of unique characteristics of materials upon nanostructuring, different kinds of functional materials are designed to address the serious issues faced by our world today. With global efforts to relieve the formidable impact of climate change, hydrogen is considered a viable replacement for fossil fuels without intermittency concerns of other renewable sources. Hydrogen storage plays a pivotal role in the implementation of hydrogen economy, coupling hydrogen production with fuel cell technologies. We aim to develop solid-state hydrogen storage materials for enabling a safe, energy-efficient, and high-energy-density system. Osmotic power, also known as blue energy, has been recognized as a sustainable energy source generated from the salinity difference between seawater and freshwater. Reverse electrodialysis (RED) directly harvests renewable energy from salinity gradients, and the achievable potential power relies heavily on the ion exchange membranes. We develop the ion-exchanged membranes with well-defined nanochannels by controlling their geometry, electrostatic and physicochemical characteristics for efficiently harvesting osmotic gradient energy. For the transition to zero carbon emission, hydrogen can provide a promising solution as it enables us to overcome the intermittency of renewable energy and acts as a high energy density fuel. To achieve such utilization of clean energy in a sustainable way, hydrogen production via water electrolysis must precede, in which water molecules are split into hydrogen and oxygen by me