Advanced Materials for Energy Conversion and Storage VII: Energy Conversion and Storage I
Sponsored by: TMS Functional Materials Division, TMS: Energy Conversion and Storage Committee
Program Organizers: Jung Choi, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; Soumendra Basu, Boston University; Amit Pandey, Lockheed Martin Space; Paul Ohodnicki, University Of Pittsburgh; Kyle Brinkman, Clemson University; Partha Mukherjee, Purdue University; Surojit Gupta, University of North Dakota
Monday 8:30 AM
March 15, 2021
Room: RM 23
Location: TMS2021 Virtual
Session Chair: Jung Pyung Choi, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; Partha Mukherjee, Purdue University
8:30 AM Keynote
Infiltration Strategies to Improve the Performance of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Anodes: Soumendra Basu1; Boshan Mo1; Jillian Rix1; Srikanth Gopalan1; Uday Pal1; 1Boston University
In this study, the performance of SOFC anodes processed using different infiltration strategies have been compared. In Ni/YSZ anodes, reactions occur at triple phase boundaries (TPBs). While infiltration of Ni nanoparticles increases the TPB density, additional TPBs created by infiltration that do not have electronically conduction pathways to the percolated Ni in the Ni/YSZ cermet are not electrochemically active, and do not contribute to performance improvement of the anode. Different strategies to provide such a conducting pathway have been explored. These include, spreading the Ni nanoparticles to form a percolating network at temperature, co-infiltration of Ni with a mixed ionic and electronic conducting (MIEC) phase, and doping the YSZ in the Ni/YSZ cermet to promote electronic conductivity between the Ni nanoparticles. Electrochemical I-V and EIS studies of full and symmetric cells, as well as fracture cross-section SEM analysis to characterize changes in the nanoparticle microstructure, will be discussed.
9:10 AM Keynote
Thermal Implications of Diverging Degradation Modes in Battery Electrodes and Opportunities to Enable Anode-free Systems: Corey Love1; Rachel Carter1; Robert Atkinson2; Todd Kingston3; 1US Naval Research Laboratory; 2EXCET, Inc.; 3NRC/NRL Postdoctoral Research Associate
Thermal gradients can develop inside lithium-ion battery packs even with the application of active or passive cooling strategies. What's more, interelectrode gradients can develop during charge and discharge operation as asymmetric heat conduction pathways exist in the radial and axial directions in cylindrical cells. We have shown how interelectrode thermal gradients can affect the local electrochemistry in graphite and lithium metal anodes. This talk will discuss how thermal-mechanical failure occurs in battery cells exposed to thermal gradients and transients. Subtle temperature differences between electrodes can induce degradation modes which are directionally-dependent, based upon which electrode is warmer or cooler. We use this understanding to explain how degradation processes can occur in commercial cells and offer informed operational strategies and remediation techniques to reverse the these degradation effects. The opportunity to enable anode-free systems through thermal manipulation will also be presented.
9:50 AM Keynote
Designing Electrode Architectures across Length Scales: Some Lessons Learned from Li-ion and “Beyond Li” Chemistries: Sarbajit Banerjee1; 1Texas A&M University
The design and operation of rechargeable batteries is predicated on orchestrating flows of mass, charge, and energy across multiple interfaces. Understanding such flows requires knowledge of atomistic and mesoscale diffusion pathways and the coupling of ion transport with electron conduction across length scales. Using multiple polymorphs of V2O5 as model systems, I will discuss our efforts to develop an Angstrom-level view of diffusion pathways using a combination of single-crystal X-ray diffraction and density functional theory calculations. Scanning transmission X-ray microscopy and ptychography imaging provides a means of mapping the accumulative results of atomic scale inhomogeneities at mesoscale dimensions and further enables tracing of stress gradients across individual particles. The mitigation of diffusion impediments will be discussed with reference to two distinct approaches: (a) utilization of Riemann manifolds as a geometric design principle for electrode architectures and (b) the atomistic design of polymorphs with well-defined diffusion pathways that provide frustrated coordination. The latter approach has led to the discovery of promising intercalation hosts for both multivalent and anion batteries.