Dwight Seferos

Dwight Seferos

Dwight Seferos

Chemistry

FAS

Research Focus: Materials

Contact: dwight.seferos@utoronto.ca

View Bio: https://www.chemistry.utoronto.ca/people/directories/all-faculty/dwight-seferos

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Research Projects

Pi-conjugated polymers with radical pendant group for battery usage

Organic materials have emerged as promising candidates for lithium-ion batteries because of their low cost, simple synthesis, and sustainable nature. The purpose of this research is to combine the beneficial aspects of both conductive polymers and radical groups to create a new class of materials that have both high conductivity and high capacity. The polymers will contain a conjugated backbone which will serve to increase the conductivity of the material without requiring an excess of conductive additives. The radical pendant groups will serve to increase the capacity of the system. As a result, these polymer materials will exhibit improved performance, both in their amount of active material loading and capacity than either of its constituent components. Various polymer backbones and radical pendant groups will be investigated to determine which combination results in a material with optimal performance as an organic electrode.

Redox-active polyethers for solution-based electrochemical carbon capture

“In conventional carbon capture systems, a nucleophilic sorbent binds CO2 and must be regenerated through a pressure or temperature swing. By contrast, emerging electrochemical methods achieve the capture and release of CO2 through redox-active mediators whose nucleophilicity or basicity can be enabled/disabled via electrochemical swings. Through CPE’s Climate Solutions Scholarship, I will work on the design, synthesis, and evaluation of organic mediators with the goal of improving their long-term stability.”