Invited Talks: Transition Metal Oxides - University Blog Service - The ...

The John B. Goodenough Symposium in Materials Science & Engineering –
In Honor of His 90 th Birthday
The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas
October 26-27, 2012
Materials and Interfacial Chemistry for Next Generation Electrical Energy Storage
S. Dai, 1 M. P. Paranthaman, 1 C. A. Bridges, 1 R. R. Unocic, 1 X. G. Sun, 1 D.-E. Jiang, 1 G. M. Veith, 1
J. B. Goodenough, 2 and A. Manthiram 2
1 Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831
2 The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712
Email: dais@ornl.gov
Abstract:
The overarching goal is to investigate fundamental principles governing energy storage through
integrated synthesis and advanced characterization. Our current research is focused on fundamental
investigation of electrolytes based on ionic liquids and rational synthesis of novel electrode architectures
through Fermi level engineering of anode and cathode redox levels by employing porous structures and
surface modifications as well as advanced operando characterization techniques including neutron
diffraction and scattering. The key scientific question concerns the relationship between chemical
structures and their energy-storage efficacies. A novel approach based on small angle neutron scattering
(SANS) enables the observation of electrochemical processes during the cycling of high capacity lithium
ion batteries. Changes in neutron scattering intensity associated with mesopore ordering show the
processes of solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) formation and lithium intercalation. Using a lithium-ion
half-cell and different solvent deuteration levels, our results demonstrate that SANS can be employed to
better understand complicated electrochemical processes occurring in rechargeable batteries. We will also
report our recent results on ionic liquid electrolytes, and mesoporous architectures for high performance
lithium ion batteries.
Research Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Sciences and
Engineering Division. Research supported by Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s SHaRE User Facility and
Spallation Neutron Source, which are sponsored by the Scientific User Facility Division, Office of Basic
Energy Sciences, U.S. Department of Energy.