Reliable characterisation of functional nanomaterials and of materials for energy storage or conversion

Metrology is a prerequisite for the development of novel energy and other functional nanomaterials, supporting the correlation of material properties and functionalities, and accelerating innovation. The expected contributions should demonstrate how innovative analytical techniques enable a deep understanding of new materials.

Scope:

Energy and other functional nanomaterials show unique properties associated with their small dimensionality. Such nanomaterials find use in a wide range of technological products, including energy conversion, energy storage, sensors and power electronics. Accurate characterization of nanoscale materials is essential to accelerate product innovations and to assess health and environmental risks. Additionally, advanced and engineered nanomaterials are critical to support the development and calibration of advanced measurement systems.

Metrology for energy and functionalised nanoscaled materials relies on the ability to measure relevant properties, with nm or even atomic resolution, in three dimensions over large areas and traceable to e.g. SI units. This pushes analytical techniques to their limits requiring new innovative approaches to face state of the art problems.

This Symposium will cover recent and innovative developments in analytical techniques that can provide precise characterization of materials and devices with nanoscale and/or atomic resolution. The objective of this symposium is both to highlight the capabilities of precise techniques for the determination of the key structural and material parameters and for a better understanding of the functional properties of challenging new materials. One major focus will be on the application of these techniques to energy and other materials systems with high potential of sustainable industrial application. Demonstration of in situ capabilities for a deeper understanding of the structure formation is expected. A special focus will be on correlative metrology, where different analytical techniques support each other to solve analytical problems, as these are crucial for the analysis of complex materials, where often a single measurement method is not sufficient to ensure metrological precision, traceability, and a well-described uncertainty budget. In addition, novel advanced sampling methods (e.g. compressive sensing) and advanced data analysis and computational methods will be covered.

Hot topics to be covered by the symposium:

• Characterisation and metrology for battery, photovoltaic, catalyst materials and other energy materials
• Characterisation and metrology for efficient and sustainable semiconductor materials and devices
• Material characterisation supporting a circular economy and environmental safety assessment
• Hybrid and correlative metrology for complex thin films and nanomaterials (e.g. new multiple parameter, multi-method approaches and correlative data analysis)
• Normative activities towards standardized metrology for energy, nanoscaled and other functional materials
• In-situ and operando analytical measurement methods for energy storage and catalyst materials
• High resolution characterization of semiconductors and energy materials by (Near-field) Scanning probe techniques (e.g. SNOM, AFM, Kelvin Probe, tip-enhanced optical spectroscopy)
• Advancements in Atom Probe and/or Electron Microscopy (e.g. sample preparation, novel workflows, automation, data analysis and reconstruction, quantification accuracy new materials, etc.)
• Characterization of micro- and nanostructure for functional materials by X-Ray diffraction, tomography, scattering and spectrometry
• Recent developments on characterization of lateral and vertical thin films using ion beam techniques (e.g. MEIS, RBS, TOFSIMS, SIMS) or advanced optical spectroscopic techniques (e.g. FI-IR, ellipsometry, time-resolved spectroscopy, and hyperspectral imaging)
• Analytical techniques for characterization of surface chemistry and of functionalized surfaces (e.g. XPS, XAFS, EELS, AFM).
• Reference materials and reliable calibration samples for energy, nanoscaled and other functional materials