Title:

Taking Luminescence Thermometry to Extremes for Device, Energy, and Catalysis Applications

Speaker:

Dr. Andrea Pickel

Affiliation:

University of California, Berkeley

When:

Thursday, November 7, 2024 at 10:30:00 AM   Add to Calendar

Where:

MRDC Building, Room 4211

Host:

Marta Hatzell
marta.hatzell@me.gatech.edu

Abstract

From next-generation electronics to lithium-ion batteries to emerging catalytic processes, broad swaths of modern technology combine a need for micro to nanoscale thermal metrology with challenging operating conditions. However, existing thermometry techniques often fall short of providing the requisite spatial resolution and operando capabilities. This talk will present three examples of pushing the boundaries of luminescence thermometry to address such challenges. First, a super-resolution nanothermometry technique based on stimulated emission depletion (STED) imaging of highly doped upconverting nanoparticles (UCNPs) will be introduced, which enables far-field optical thermometry with spatial resolution below the diffraction limit. The results showcase the ability of STED nanothermometry to reveal a temperature gradient across a Joule-heated microstructure that is undetectable with diffraction limited thermometry. Second, a dual-mode technique that enables simultaneous yet separate operando thermometry and chemical reaction monitoring during plasmonic photocatalysis will be discussed. Temperature rises exceeding 40 K are recorded during 4-nitrothiophenol dimerization, yet complementary measurements rule out a purely thermal mechanism. Finally, operando internal battery thermometry via UCNPs incorporated into commercial lithium-based coin cells will be highlighted. Under elevated discharge currents, temperature differences of several degrees between internal components and the battery exterior are observed.

Biography

Andrea Pickel joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Rochester as an Assistant Professor in July 2019. She received her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley in May 2019, where she was supported by a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship and a UC Berkeley Chancellor’s Fellowship. She received her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering with University and College Honors from Carnegie Mellon University in 2014. Her current research focuses on harnessing the unique properties of luminescent materials to develop nanothermometry techniques for challenging operating environments. Andrea is the recipient of an American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund (ACS PRF) Doctoral New Investigator Award (2020), a University of Rochester Furth Fund Award (2021), and an NSF CAREER Award (2022), and she was named a Scialog Fellow for Automating Chemical Laboratories (2024). Her teaching contributions have been recognized with the G. Graydon Curtis ’58 and Jane W. Curtis Award for Non-Tenured Faculty Teaching (2023).

Notes

Meet the speaker