Research Themes

• Battery electrolytesFundamental properties of electrolytes and how they impact the operation of a battery
• Electrode kineticsDecoding the kinetics of multi-particle systems to design better battery electrodes
• Solid-state batteriesDeveloping key tools and components needed for solid-state batteries
• Synaptic devicesA novel synaptic device concept using mixed ionic-electronic conductor/insulator/semiconductor junctions
• Ion-exchange membranesDeveloping new methods to measure the ion-selective property of membranes

 
Other themes not listed above (to be updated in the future): ion-electron interference; corrosion monitoring; using fiber bragg-grating sensors in calorimeters; characterization of porous particles; transition metal dissolution.

Research Keywords

Mixed Ionic-Electronic Conductors (MIECs)

Materials that simultaneously transport both ions and electrons are especially of interest because: 1. they are capable of readily changing stoichiometry via chemical diffusion; 2. they facilitate electrochemical reactions. These MIECs are highly relevant for electrochemical energy storage (such as in Li-ion batteries) and for synaptic devices.

Electrochemsitry

It is extremely useful (and fun) to manipulate chemical reactions through electrical currents and voltages. By manipulating reactions to store energy, we could make a battery. By manipulating reactions to program changes into a circuit component, we could make synaptic devices for next-gen AI computing hardware. If you master electrochemistry, there will be lots of things you can do!

One good way to master electrochemistry is to know its fundamentals very well. We have people who study the fundamental mechanisms of charge-transfer reactions and how to measure them. Some others study how electrochemistry changes in special circumstances like in concentrated solutions, multi-phase systems, porous systems, etc (all of which are relevant for using electrochemistry in practical situations).

Charge Transport

Charge transport is such a ubiquitous phenomenon, but that does not necessarily mean that it is understood very well. Many of the materials we use today in batteries, semiconductor devices, catalysis, etc come with many unanswered questions in terms of their charge transport mechanism. By tackling these questions, we are often led to new device ideas!