Operando imaging of solid state electrochemical interfaces using scanning thermo-ionic microscopy

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With support from the Chemical Measurement and Imaging Program in the Division of Chemistry, Professors Adler and Li at the University of Washington (UW) are developing a new and powerful imaging method, scanning thermo-ionic microscopy, to help better understanding how rechargeable batteries or fuel cells work and to improve the design of the next generation of batteries with longer lives. This technique provides unique information about how charges and ions move at a liquid and surface interface and how their movement is decided by variations in the composition of materials. In terms of broader impacts, Professors Adler and Li offer a new hands-on laboratory course to UW students on using new theory and software tools for electrochemical imaging. Both faculty members and their students continuously participate in the "Hands-On, Minds-On" program at Seattle's Bryant Elementary School, which introduces hypothesis-based research approaches to 4th and 5th graders, as well as to local high school students. Professors Adler and Li also participate in the Washington Clean-Energy Institute (CEI) by offering a broad audience-based course on advanced materials for energy through the CEI curriculum. In this project, Professors Adler and Li develop a real time scanning thermionic microscopy (STIM) imaging tool to improve the design of fuel cells or rechargeable batteries for more effective and efficient energy storage media. The imaging method can gain insight about materials at time scales relevant to electrochemical reactions (10^(-6) ~ 1s). It offers a unique capability to extract temporal-spatial information quantitatively in terms of local reaction and transport rates, which is essential in understanding how charges flow across an interface and how an active interface responds under dynamic strain. The information leads to better quantitative understanding of how local variations in structure and composition result in overall system behavior observed in electrochemical materials. Both groups' are actively engaged in student training and outreach activities to local elementary and high schools, and through participation in the Washington Clean-Energy Institute (CEI).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.