Towards a Net Zero World: Developing and applying new tools to understand how materials for Li and “beyond-Li” battery technologies function

Wed 12 March

Department of Chemistry

This talk will start by describing existing battery technologies, what some of the current and more long-term challenges are, and touch on strategies to address some of the issues. I will then focus on my own work – together with my research group and collaborators – to develop new characterisation (NMR, MRI, and X-ray diffraction and optical) methods that allow batteries to be studied while they are operating (i.e., operando). These techniques allow transformations of the various cell components to be followed under realistic conditions without having to disassemble and take apart the cell. We can detect key side reactions involving the various battery materials, in order to determine the processes that are responsible ultimately for battery failure. We can watch ions diffusing in, and moving in and out of, the active “electrode” materials that store the (lithium) ions and the electrons, to understand how the batteries function. Finally, I will discuss the challenges in designing batteries that can be rapidly charged and discharged.

Cost: Free