CAREER: Defect-driven Metal Oxides for Enhanced Energy Storage Systems

NON-TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: This research seeks to advance the understanding of defect-driven oxide materials for developing new battery technologies to meet global energy needs. People depend on energy to power buildings, cars, portable devices, manufacturing, and communication systems. Global energy demands are growing exponentially, making improved energy storage technologies increasingly urgent. This project explores a new electrochemical paradigm to create oxide materials with disorder for high energy, power, and stability battery systems. Recent studies have indicated that metal oxides with structural defects and local disorder may offer superior capacity and stability over the widely explored well-ordered oxides for advanced battery systems. Confirmation of the hypothesis of enhancing battery functionality in this project using defect-driven oxide materials could profoundly transform battery research, manufacturing, and applications, and also open pathways for defect-driven electrode materials research. This project stands to improve the U.S. innovation and economic competitiveness in the area of energy storage technologies. Finally, this project aims at educating and mentoring students from elementary through graduate school through an integrated research program that is focused on fundamental science of energy materials. Graduate students are offered opportunities for professional development through collaborative research with national laboratories. This project is also developing educational modules for Idaho youth in non-school settings through a new partnership with local Boys and Girls Clubs to boost students' interest in science and engineering. Research outcomes are demonstrated through hands-on education modules in the annual STEM Exploration Day and other on-campus outreach activities. TECHNICAL DETAILS: This project tests the hypothesis that nanoscale disordered metal oxides can serve as a host with a fairly open framework that can be electrochemically altered to form optimal structures for enhanced electrochemical charge storage. Recent studies have indicated that cation-disordered ceramic materials may offer higher capacity and better stability as compared to well-ordered oxides; however the underlying electrochemical charge storage mechanism remains largely unknown. This study aims to advance knowledge of defect-driven oxide materials, thermodynamics, intercalation kinetics, and how to leverage them for energy storage. Evidence that tailoring the defect chemistry will result in spontaneous phase transformation during electrochemical cycling from nanoscale amorphous oxides to optimal structures is sought. Under study are simple model oxide systems (titania and niobium pentoxide) and Li(Na)-ion battery systems. The research could offer a universal method to create new high performance electrode materials. In addition, the team is adapting nanoscience, electrochemistry, and energy materials research concepts to curricula from K-12 to the graduate level. Graduate student researchers are collaborating with national laboratories to expand the capabilities in this project; through these collaborations, students are also gaining technical experience with cutting-edge research equipment and techniques.