MateriAlZ Seminar: Enyuan Hu
Friday, November 17, 2023 - 11:00 a.m. MST
Enyuan Hu
Chemistry Division
Brookhaven National Laboratory
"Developing Electrolyte and Characterizing Interphase for Lithium Metal Batteries"
Zoom link | Passcode: 536812
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Abstract
Lithium metal batteries that use lithium transition metal oxides as cathode and lithium metal as anode have very high energy densities due to the advantages of these electrodes in terms of voltage and capacity. But the oxidizing cathode and the reducing anode pose great challenges for the electrolyte design. While there is no identified electrolyte that is thermodynamically stable against cathode and anode, it is possible to kinetically stabilize the lithium metal batteries by forming a robust interphase between the electrolyte and the electrode. I will discuss our recent efforts in developing advanced electrolytes for lithium metal batteries. Electrolyte additives and solvents can be engineered for a stable interphase and therefore a long cycle life of lithium metal batteries. We also developed new tools to understand the interphase, which is very challenging to characterize. These new tools help us to identify elusive interphase components and to understand the evolution of interphase during cycling.
Bio
Dr. Enyuan Hu is a chemist at the Chemistry Division of Brookhaven National Laboratory. His research emphasizes beyond lithium-ion batteries including lithium metal batteries, solid state batteries, lithium sulfur batteries and sodium-ion batteries. He has strong interest in and has developed various techniques in characterizing amorphous materials and battery interphases. He obtained his Ph.D. degree in mechanical engineering from Stony Brook University and his bachelor’s degree from Southeast University in China. He has been the leading PI of several DOE projects and serves as a co-PI in the Battery500 Consortium. He is a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher in 2022 and awarded the International Battery Association (IBA) Early Career Award in 2023.