UNS: Engineering of Polymer Electrolytes for Energy Storage

展望未来，能源存储设备将需要重大的技术飞跃来满足日益增长的能源经济需求。与此同时，增强的能量存储解决方案将需要在材料和工艺方面取得重大的科学突破。关注可充电锂离子电池，小型化有望成为重要的前进道路，特别是随着便携式电子产品、微机电系统（MEMS）、无线设备、医疗植入物和传感器的最新进展。本项目将研究工程化小型锂离子电池的合成和加工新策略。具体来说，适应更小的微电池，特别是作为车载电源，将需要从当前的二维（2D）平面薄膜设计转变为由多孔纳米结构材料组成的三维(3)结构。这个电池的重新设计项目旨在利用更大的有效表面积和更小的电荷传输距离来增加能量和功率密度。此外，材料可以在纳米尺度上显示新的现象，例如与块体行为相比，更快的电极过程和更小的电极应变。该项目旨在通过利用这种小型化方法中更大的活性表面积体积和更小的离子传输距离来提高能量和功率密度。但是，在寻找合适的全固态纳米级电解质、可行的纳米级合成和加工途径以及适合三维纳米结构设计的纳米级离子传导现象方面，存在显著的知识空白。因此，这项应用的总体目标是弥合这些知识差距，以提供新的纳米级材料、纳米级合成和加工方法，并研究这种锂离子电池的纳米级行为。具体来说，PI选择研究聚氧化物（PEO）聚合物作为潜在的全固态聚合物电解质，将被合成并保形涂覆在介孔非周期3D纳米结构的表面上。他将应用他在实验室开发的无液体合成和沉积技术，使环氧乙烷环单体在化学气相沉积环境中开环阳离子聚合。具体的研究目标是：(1)确定在三维多孔纳米结构材料内部制造PEO聚合物共形涂层的加工空间；(2)了解PEO聚合物在三维纳米限制域内的离子传导行为；(3)构建三维纳米结构锂离子电池的结构-性能-加工关系。这项工作的成果有望从能量存储扩展到传感器、电致变色和生物医学领域。与研究计划相结合的是一个教育推力，旨在培养研究生和本科生，以及让科学家参与与能源存储相关的纳米科学和纳米技术。此外，通过与地区高中建立关系，将招募高中生参与独立研究。将积极招收少数民族、贫困和代表性不足的学生。将向费城的高中推广，以提高学生在能源技术和社会责任方面的意识和行动。通过非营利组织向中学生推广科学学习。

Lau, 1510888Looking to the future, energy storage devices will require significant technological leaps to satisfy the increasing demands of the energy economy. Concomitantly, enhanced energy storage solutions will require significant scientific breakthroughs in materials and processes. Focusing on rechargeable lithium ion batteries, miniaturization is anticipated to be an important path forward, especially with the recent advances seen in portable electronics, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), wireless devices, medical implants, and sensors. This project will study new synthesis and processing strategies for engineering small scale lithium ion batteries. Specifically, adapting smaller microbatteries, particularly as on-board power sources, will require a transformation from the current two-dimensional (2D) planar thin film design to a three-dimensional (3) architecture composed of porous nanostructured materials. This battery redesign project aims at taking advantage of the much larger active surface area to volume and smaller charge transport distance for increasing energy and power density is such miniaturized devices. In addition, materials can display new phenomena at the nanoscale, such as faster electrode processes and lesser electrode strain, compared to bulk behavior. This project aims at increasing energy and power density by utilizing the much larger active surface area to volume and smaller ion transport distance in this miniaturization approach. But, there exist significant knowledge gaps related to finding appropriate all solid state nanoscale electrolytes, viable nanoscale synthesis and processing pathways, and nanoscale ion conduction phenomena amenable to a 3D nano structured design. Thus, the overall objective of this application is to bridge these knowledge gaps to deliver new nanoscale materials, nanoscale synthesis and processing methodologies, and to study nanoscale behavior in such lithium ion batteries. Specifically, the PI has chosen to study polyethylene oxide (PEO) polymers as potential all solid state polymer electrolytes that will be synthesized and conformally coated on the surfaces within mesoporous aperiodic 3D nanostructures. He will apply a liquid-free synthesis and deposition technique developed in his lab that enables ring opening cationic polymerization of ethylene oxide ring monomers in a chemical vapor deposition environment. The specific research aims are to: (1) define the processing space to create conformal coatings of PEO polymers inside 3D porous nanostructured materials; (2) understand the ion conduction behavior of PEO polymers within 3D nanoconfined domains; and (3) obtain the structure-property-processing relationships to create 3D nanostructured lithium ion batteries. Efforts from this work are expected to extend beyond energy storage into the fields of sensors, electrochromics, and biomedicine. Integrated with the research program is an educational thrust that aims to train graduate and undergraduate students as well as engage scientists in nanoscience and nanotechnology related to energy storage. Additionally, high school students will be recruited to participate in independent research through established relationships with area high schools. Minority, underprivileged and underrepresented students will be actively recruited. Outreach to Philadelphia high schools will be made to enhance student awareness and action in energy technologies and social responsibility. Outreach to middle school students through non-profit organizations will be made to motivate science learning.