The photocatalytic conversion of CO2 to liquid fuels has the dual advantages of carbon recycling for global climate change mitigation and solar energy capture for renewable energy development.

Understanding lattice vibrations in individual nanoparticles can inspire energy applications such as photocatalysis, photonics, thermoelectrics, semiconductor design, groundwater remediation, and heat transfer in battery interfaces.

Improving batteries requires understanding the interaction of many materials at multiple length scales, ranging from micro (structure of various components, transport of ions/charge) to nano (electronic interactions, local charge accumulation).