Nanostructured alloying electrode materials such as antimony, germanium, and silicon are highly promising materials that offer potentially low-cost, high-power-density, and high rate capability. However, developing a strong understanding of the morphology and tying the morphology to performance is difficult because electrodes are typically made up of a disordered mixture of active material, polymeric binder, and conductive carbon. Therefore, the goal of my research is to utilize in-situ electrochemical techniques such as the galvanostatic intermittent titration technique (GITT) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) to fully understand how alloying type nanomaterials behave in multicomponent electrochemical systems such as batteries. The investigated materials will be synthesized using methods such as the solution-liquid-solid (SLS) and supercritical fluid-liquid-solid (SFLS) growth that support large-scale production. The in-house synthesized nanomaterials will then be used to develop multilayer and micro-patterned electrodes for Li-ion and Na-ion batteries using the start-of-the-art electrode processing methods such as screen printing and inkjet printing provided at the WCET to develop the next generation electrodes.
Advisor: Vince Holmberg – Chemical Engineering