This book has both the advantages and disadvantages of a single-author volume. It flows much more smoothly than an edited text. However, the author seems to have taken much of the material from the literature without a sufficiently critical eye, leading to errors of emphasis that are exemplified by the chapter on energy storage discussed later. Also, it is not clear who the target audience is. It is not a textbook, as there are no questions or problem sets, and no introductory material for each area, such as a chapter on thermodynamics or electrochemistry. A student needs the latter to really understand the role of materials in energy production, harvesting, use, and storage.
The book starts with an introductory chapter 1, which is a bit too short. Figure 1.2 shows where the sources of energy are in the United States. It would have been useful for the reader to know also how this energy is used, for example, directly or indirectly by the user. How much is used to generate electricity? What proportion is used in the following sectors: manufacturing, residential, and transportation? How much energy is used per capita in North America compared to the rest of the world, and what are the implications of this to the global energy “pollution” if every other country were to wish for the same usage? It would also have been useful to have descriptions of where materials advances could have their largest impact. An area not discussed here or in similar books is where materials could be used to reduce the use of energy.
After the introduction, the remainder of the book is split into 11 chapters. Chapters 2–5 cover fossil energy, nuclear energy, solar energy, and bioenergy. The next two chapters on wind energy conversion, and hydro, geothermal, and ocean energy are much too short to educate the reader on the critical materials issues. For example, there is no mention of pumped hydro storage, despite the commonality of the turbine materials issues and the huge storage capability of many GWh in the United States.
The eighth chapter is by far the longest and gives a comprehensive discussion of the history and types of fuel cells. It would have been nice to have a conclusion section of the pros and cons of each type of fuel cell, and the major materials challenges that a student or researcher might tackle. Chapters 9 and 10 cover mechanochemical energy harvesting and thermoelectric energy conversion, respectively. The matrix algebra equations seem distinctly out of place for this book.
Chapters 11 and 12 cover energy storage and materials, and hydrogen storage. The former would have been better described as “Electrochemical Energy Storage and Materials,” as it is limited to batteries and capacitors with no mention of flywheels, which are commercial, or of pumped hydro, which is by far the largest means of storing energy. Both of these have severe materials challenges. As noted at the beginning of this review, the author appears to have gained information for this chapter from the literature without giving it a critical analysis. Thus the reader is going to get much misinformation and will be confused by errors. For example, in one paragraph, the author states that lithium batteries have “an easy state-of-the-charge detection due to gradual voltage change upon discharge,” and in the next paragraph is the statement, “There is no end-of-charge indicator in the voltage profile.” This has to be confusing for any reader. All rechargeable lithium batteries use the voltage to determine and control the end of charge and end of discharge.
In the discussion of cathode materials, the reader comes away with the impression that LiFeO2 is the best oxide cathode, whereas in reality, it does not compare favorably with the other oxides discussed. The statement that “Solid electrolytes are currently the most popular electrolyte for Li-ion batteries” is obviously not correct. Similarly, “Na-S batteries are considered one of the most promising candidates for stationary electric energy storage.” “An expansion/contraction of 500%” for Si-based anodes is an exaggeration of the actual 300%. There are also concerns with the units; the author describes storage of power for batteries rather than energy for the grid. Similarly, the units of electrical resistance are given as V/cm.
The reader would believe from Figure 11.4 that thin-film Li-ion batteries can have double the gravimetric energy density of Li-ion batteries and triple the volumetric energy density. It would be interesting to see how these numbers were calculated, as the general understanding in the field is that the energy density is best improved by eliminating as much of the dead weight as possible, such as the current collector, the separator, etc., which might be achieved by having thicker electrodes rather than thinner. Moreover, today’s Li-ion batteries achieve over 600 Wh/liter, double the value given in the figure.
The details in this chapter deter me from recommending that a student or newcomer to the field use the book as a learning tool. It might be useful to have this book in your laboratory library, but I cannot recommend that the individual purchase it without first checking out one or two chapters. The textbook Fundamentals of Materials for Energy and Environmental Sustainability,Footnote * although an edited volume, is much clearer in its presentation, and it is generally error-free. It also contains in each chapter a very useful list of references for further reading and a list of questions for discussion.
Reviewer: M. Stanley Whittinghamis Distinguished Professor, Chemistry and Materials Science & Engineering, Binghamton University, The State University of New York, USA.
