Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division
Technology Development
The Battery Technology Development group focuses on developing advanced materials and battery systems for HEV, PHEV, EV, consumer, military, medical, and satellite applications.
The Technology Development group combines capabilities in advanced battery materials synthesis, battery testing and characterization, battery component diagnostics, and analysis and spectroscopy on advanced electrode materials to solve energy storage problems.
Our group is focused on a broad spectrum of battery materials research - from fundamental research to goal-orientated applied research. We maintain strong connections with industry and the academic research community that allows our group to maintain a leadership role in developing functional materials for electrochemical energy storage. The key capabilities of this group include:
- Full Cell Development based on combinations of Ni-rich, coated, or concentration gradient lithium-ion cathode materials, carbon-based anode materials, and electrolytes that contain functional additives, to create high-energy-density lithium-ion batteries.
- Li-air (Li-O2) battery systems: enable high energy density, energy efficiency, and highly reversibility approaches for Li-Air systems that combine innovation in electrolytes and catalysis, with extensive computer modeling and use of advanced characterization techniques.
- Mixed chalcogenide [SxSey] cathodes have been developed to work in lithium-ion cells. The mixed chalcogenide active species help mitigate performance degradation issues through advanced encapsulation strategies while investigating novel electrolytes that can suppress polysulfide/polyselendie diffusion.
- Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) technology - mitigate gassing issues in systems that contain LTO as a component of full cells as it relates to fast charging applications.
- Hybrid Li-ion / Li-air (Li-O2) systems: development of electrochemical processes in mixed electrode well-defined systems
- Lithium Superoxide (LiO2) battery: Exploration of a new concept using a lithium-oxygen conversion reactions with extensive computer modeling and use of advanced characterization techniques to guide the effort.
- Na-ion, Na-air, K-ion, K-air battery systems represent emerging cathode and anode materials for energy storage applications.