Developments in Cathode Materials, Composite Materials, and Macroporous Materials

Significant breakthroughs in cathode materials, composite materials, and macroporous materials are seen to be driving the high-tech materials business. Sodium (Na), which is resource-abundant, inexpensive, and whose chemical properties are close to those of lithium, is receiving significant attention as a promising alternative for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) as a cathode material. Also, development of new hydrothermal methods for developing materials fopr large scale energy storage is being viewed as a promising solution due to the method’s ability to produce materials with relatively high energy density and at a lower cost. Further, the current growing demand is toward developing portable electronic devices, such as hybrid electric vehicles, cell phones, and laptops. This development of appropriate new generation energy storage devices is driven by significant interest toward composite materials. An increased interest is also observed for developing new macroporous functional materials that are developed using intrinsically conducting polymers (ICPs). This is due to the growing demand for the development of electrorheological fluids, organic lightweight batteries, and conductive packaging. With regard to development of battery materials, the focus has been on materials that enable a high surface area, are extremely lightweight and have high charging capability. These materials enable development of high performing futuristic battery solutions and are thus gaining high interest. Overall, researchers are working toward incremental developments in synthesizing new materials and developing new methods for synthesis to enable new industrial and commercial benefits. The innovations profiled in this issue of the High-Tech Materials TOE are recent research innovations focused towards energy storage solutions and their synthesis methods that suit the new consumer and environmental needs of the day.

The High-Tech Materials TechVision Opportunity Engine (TOE) provides intelligence on technologies, products, processes, applications, and strategic insights on various materials across industries. Some material technologies include lightweight materials, bio–based materials, ceramics, smart materials, fibers, nanomaterials, responsive materials, polymers, woven and non woven materials, polymers and plastics and packaging materials.

The Chemicals and Advanced Materials cluster tracks research and innovation trends and developments across specialty chemicals, plastics, polymers, chemicals, bio-chemicals, metals, coatings, thinfilms, surface treatments, composites, alloys, oil and gas, fuel additives, fibers, and several other related technologies and its impact and application across industries.