Our advances in cryogenic electron microscopy have enabled us to image highly beam-sensitive materials at unprecedented resolution. For batteries involving liquid electrolytes, for example, the ability to structurally and chemically characterize buried liquid-solid interfaces have provided new insight into the underlying processes that dictate the performance and durability of a battery. In Fuel cells it is the soft polymer electrolyte and interfaces between soft ionomers and solid catalysts that are critical. Our work demonstrates the impact novel characterization methods can have on our understanding of energy storage and conversion system.
Energy Storage and Conversion: Batteries
Representative publications
The early-stage growth and reversibility of Li electrodeposition in Br-rich electrolytes | Prayag Biswal, et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 118, e2012071118 (2021)
Nanoscale Elemental Mapping of Intact Solid-Liquid Interfaces and Reactive Materials in Energy Devices Enabled by Cryo-FIB/SEM | Michael J. Zachman, et al., ACS Energy Letters 5, 1124 (2020)
Atomic‐Scale Visualization of Electrochemical Lithiation Processes in Monolayer MoS2 by Cryogenic Electron Microscopy | Seung‐Ho Yu*, Michael J. Zachman*, et al., Adv. Energy Mater. 9, 1902773 (2019)
Cryo-STEM mapping of solid–liquid interfaces and dendrites in lithium-metal batteries | Michael J. Zachman, et al., Nature 560, 345 (2018)
Energy Storage and Conversion: Fuel Cells
Representative publications
Electrocatalysis in Alkaline Media and Alkaline Membrane-Based Energy Technologies | Yao Yang, et al., Chem. Rev. 122, 6117 (2022)
Managing Gas and Ion Transport in a PTFE Fiber-Based Architecture for Alkaline Fuel Cells | Zhifei Yan, et al., Cell Reports Physical Science 3, 100912 (2022)
Multiblock Copolymer Anion-Exchange Membranes Derived from Vinyl Addition Polynorbornenes | Ryan Selhorst, et al., ACS Applied Energy Materias 4, 10273 (2021)