The technological advancement of electrochemical process-driven energy conversion and storage devices greatly relies on the design and in-depth understanding of functional nanomaterials and ion-conducting polymers (ionomers). Especially, the ionomer-catalyst interface on electrodes is considered as a major reason behind challenges, like ion transport limitation in H-fuel cells. Our primary mission is to dig deep into the interfacial phenomena by designing nanoscale interfacial characterization strategies and find the answer of why ion conduction is so weak at ionomer-catalyst interfaces with traditionally used ionomers, like Nafion. This mystery is gradually evolving which is helping us to identify the key design parameters that need to be fine tuned to design better ionomer binders for fuel cell electrodes. Our other wing of research thus focuses on designing new classes of bio-derived and nature-inspired ionomers targeting to elevate the ion transport under thin film confinement and improve the electrochemical performance of H-fuel cells and many other devices, thereby. This talk will cover our journey in this challenging path with the final goal of achieving energy sustainability.
Dr. Shudipto Konika Dishari is currently an associate professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). Dishari worked as a post-doctoral fellow in Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering at Pennsylvania State University. She received her Ph.D. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from the National University of Singapore. Dishari's research focuses on designing polymeric nanomaterials to impact energy conversion/storage devices, antimicrobial, bio separation, and biomedical applications. Dishari has received several honors/awards in recognition of her research and teaching excellence, including, the DOE Office of Science Early CAREER Award (2019), NSF CAREER Award (2018), 3M Non-Tenured Faculty Award (2021), ACS PMSE Young Investigator (2023), Emerging Innovator of the Year Award (2020), UNL Distinguished Teaching Award (2023), WEPAN Core Concept Award (2022), Harold and Esther Edgerton Junior Faculty Award (2019), Baxter Young Investigator Award (2014), and more. Dishari is the elected Vice-Chair of Area 8A (Polymers) in the Materials Engineering and Science Division (MESD) of the 2023 American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Annual Meeting. She has also been actively involved in UNL's 鈥淐omplete Engineering Initiative,鈥 鈥淒iversity and Inclusion Taskforce,鈥 and Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience鈥檚 Advisory Committee.