T. (Tao) Jiang, PhD

Dr. Tao Jiang is a young scientist emerging as an excellent research fellow in the field of energy conversion and storage systems. He has demonstrated, at an international level, an excellent educational and research track record in Green Hydrogen generation from Alkaline Water Electrolysis (AWE) technology. He is a high-profile expert in the research areas related to Materials Chemistry, Electrochemistry, Electrocatalysis, and Materials Science and Technology. Major research achievements of Dr. Tao Jiang involve 1) Design self-supported electrodes/catalytic layers (withstand ≥ 500 mA cm⁻² for new-generation Alkaline electrolyzer (AEL) through scalable and cost-effective technologies; 2) Develop self-supported porous electrodes for AWE by Codeposition and validate performance of the hetero-structured catalysts by structural and morphology evolution after long-term stability testing (withstand 800 mA cm⁻²); 3) Fabricate self-supported electrodes for AWE by Thermal spraying technique and validate performance of the Raney-Nickel-based catalysts by structural and morphology evolution after long-term stability testing (withstand 800 mA cm⁻²); 4) Reveal the relation between mass transfer process and catalysts morphology by EIS (fitting) and bubble dynamics. Dr. Tao Jiang proved a high research potential and versatility through participation in high-quality research projects at his early stage research experience. He owns two International Fellowship awards at Ph.D. and Postdoc: CSC/UT-INSA (China/France) Ph.D. PROGRAM-Development of Alkaline Electrolyzer Electrodes (UTBM, France) (2016-2020) and DLR/DAAD Research Fellowships-Postdocs in Advanced Materials Development for Energy Conversion and Storage (German Aerospace Center-Stuttgart, Germany) (2020-2022). The CSC/UT-INSA Ph.D. program had created an excellent opportunity for the candidate to perform high-quality research, involving interdisciplinary subjects, on Material Engineering, Electrocatalysis, and Energy Conversion/Storage. In line with his Ph.D. research, he has participated in the project “Development of alkaline electrolyzer electrodes with scalable and cost-effective routes” aiming at developing practical electrodes for AWE. The first work during his Ph.D. study at UTBM (Supervisors: Prof. Hanlin Liao) focused on developing highly efficient and stable heterostructure electrodes for AWE to meet industrial requirements through Codeposition (ACS Appl. Energy Mater., 2019, 12, 8809-8817). Meanwhile, another kind of scalable and cost-effective technology, the thermal spraying process, was employed to fabricate high-performance Raney-Nickel-based electrodes and investigate the degeneration mechanism along with the durable test at 800 mA cm⁻² (Applied Materials Today, 2022, 28, 101526). The Raney-Nickel-based electrodes also exhibited excellent catalysis activity to catalysis AWE with promising stability under large current density. Besides, Dr. Tao Jiang worked on research focusing on the development of advanced materials for the new generation of AWE as a participant in the HORIZON2020-EU-funded “NEXTAEC” at the German Aerospace Center (DLR)-Stuttgart. He worked in collaboration with experts on Hydrogen production and AWE from academics such as DTU (Denmark), LUNDS UNIVERSITET (Sweden), UTCP (Czechia), UNIVERSITE CATHOLIQUE DE LOUVAIN (Belgium), et al.; and leading companies, such as NEW NEL HYDROGEN AS (Norway), BLUE WORLD TECHNOLOGIES HOLDING APS (Denmark). During his participation in the project, he performed mainly experimental research tasks related to the optimization of Raney-Nickel-based catalysts and introduced new, scalable, and cost-effective methods for developing PGM-free catalysts, managed related work packages ensuring efficient achievement of the required deliverables and milestones, and would contribute to the top journals in the field of functional materials, electrocatalysis, and chemistry technology ( Journal of Materials Chemistry A 10 (44), 23863-23873; Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 2023, DOI: 10.1039/D3TA05775E). Dr. Tao Jiang has attended major international conferences in the field of Advanced Materials: International Thermal Spray Conference and Exposition (ITSC), Yokohama Japan, May 27, 2019; Electrochemistry: 237th Electrochemical Society (ECS) Meeting with IMCS 2020, Montreal Canada (2020), 241st Electrochemical Society (ECS), Vancouver Canada (2022), 244th Electrochemical Society (ECS) Meeting, Gothenburg, Sweden (2023). All this added to his valuable contribution to the multidisciplinary fields of Material development and characterization, Electrolysis, and Energy conversion and storage, making him a very attractive candidate for the host research group. This is a crucial aspect for the successful implementation of the GREEN project, fulfillment of training objectives, and knowledge transfer, with a huge contribution to European research in this emerging field of renewable energy.