CAREER: Laser modified transport in electrochemical materials

技术说明本项目将研究多孔材料在激光照射下的电化学和物理改性的多尺度机制。电化学系统中基于激光的材料改性方法为加工提供了一个全新的维度，因为它们会在多个长度尺度上影响材料的结构和性能。 拟议的研究重点是激光加工影响微观和纳米尺度电化学性能的基本机制以及激光与多相材料相互作用的基本机制。实验结合联合收割机激光加工选定的系统与详细的结构和电化学表征和相应的理论模型的发展。 这项研究的成功实施不仅将对以明确和受控的方式优化电池材料的能力产生实际影响，而且还将这种理解扩展到其他介孔和多相材料系统，如生物材料，聚合物，复合材料，陶瓷，胶体和其他快速增长的领域。PI将在大学一级积极开展活动，开发课程并指导传统学科的研究生和本科生;在专业和国际一级，通过在NSF美国-非洲材料研究所方案下接待将参与这些研究目标的非洲研究人员;在地方和国家，通过为当地科学博物馆和K-12教室开发社区外展模块和讲习班，提高教育水平。技术说明便携式能源的现有和未来需求需要在比功率、容量、循环寿命和高速率行为方面具有改进性能的先进电池和电化学存储装置。 工艺的发展导致了新材料的出现，因此需要更深入地了解影响器件性能的潜在科学问题。 在这个项目中，基于激光的新方法被用来影响多个长度尺度上的材料结构和性能。 通过对这些复杂材料的激光改性过程及其电化学性能的详细研究，本研究建立了这类技术上重要的材料的加工和性能之间的重要关系。 通过结合激光材料加工和电化学储能领域的研究，该项目将为两个社区提供重要的新知识，并将对以明确和受控的方式优化电池材料的能力产生实际影响。 这项工作固有的跨学科性质，再加上对电池的文化熟悉，使来自各种背景和教育水平的学生都能获得综合教育部分。

TECHNICAL EXPLANATIONThis project will investigate multiscale mechanisms underlying the electrochemical and physical modification of porous materials undergoing laser irradiation. Laser based approaches to materials modifications in electrochemical systems enable an essentially new dimension to processing, since they affect material structures and properties on multiple length scales. The proposed research focuses on the fundamental mechanisms by which laser processing affects electrochemical performance on the micro and nanoscale and the fundamental mechanisms of laser interactions with multiphase materials. Experiments combine laser processing of selected systems with detailed structural and electrochemical characterization and the development of corresponding theoretical models. The successful implementation of this research will not only have a practical effect on the ability to optimize battery materials in a well-defined and controlled fashion, but also extend that understanding into other mesoporous and multiphase material systems such as biomaterials, polymers, composites, ceramics, colloids, and other rapidly growing areas in complex materials. The PI will be active at the university level, developing courses and mentoring both graduate and undergraduate students across traditional disciplines; at the professional and international level by hosting African researchers under the NSF US-Africa Materials Research Institute program who will participate in these research objectives; and at the local and national, level by developing community outreach modules and workshops for local science museums and K-12 classrooms.NON-TECHNICAL EXPLANATIONExisting and future needs in portable energy call for advanced battery and electrochemical storage devices with improved performance in terms of specific power, capacity, cycle life, and high rate behavior. Developments in processing have led to new materials, and with them, the need for a deeper understanding of the underlying scientific issues that affect the device performance. In this project, novel laser-based approaches are used to affect material structures and properties on multiple length scales. Through a detailed study of the laser modification processes in these complex materials, and the resulting electrochemical properties, this research establishes the important relationship between processing and performance in this technologically significant class of materials. In combining research from the fields of laser materials processing and electrochemical energy storage, this project will provide significant new knowledge to both communities, and will have a practical effect on the ability to optimize battery materials in a well-defined and controlled fashion. The inherently interdisciplinary nature of this work, combined with the cultural familiarity of batteries in general, enables an integrated educational component that is accessible to students from all backgrounds and educational levels.