Abstract:
Electrochemical energy storage devices (e.g., rechargeable batteries) lie at the heart of electrochemistry and impose significant challenges for materials science in increasingly demanding high–energy–power applications such as electric vehicles and grid electricity storage. At Virginia Tech, our research is positioned at the crossroad of interdisciplinary energy research, with the ultimate goal of achieving unprecedented control of materials properties for next-generation battery applications as well as contributing to the fundamental progress of materials electrochemistry and solid state chemistry. In this talk, we will highlight our recent progress in understanding and improving cathode materials for lithium and sodium batteries. Chemical evolution and structural transformations at the surface of electrode materials influence greatly the key performance metrics of these batteries. We design novel synthetic approaches to overcome the surface challenges of oxide cathode materials and develop lithium and sodium batteries with high energy density, high power density and excellent cycle life in the laboratory. We also employ multiscale synchrotron and electron spectroscopic and imaging techniques to investigate materials electrochemistry and to generate a chemical basis for designing safe, affordable, and long-life alkali metal batteries.