CAREER: Decoupling electrodeposition from corrosion for precise tuning of metal deposits in high energy batteries

活性金属的电化学沉积是几种重要的清洁能源技术的核心过程，包括使用金属阳极的高能电池。了解和设计这些电化学系统对于实现国家未来零碳排放的目标至关重要，在这种未来，电网规模的能量储存可以促进可再生但间歇性的绿色能源(例如太阳能、风能)，而且交通部门的电气化程度越来越高。该项目的目标是了解和设计用于储能的金属电沉积，这将对未来造福社会的技术产生广泛影响，包括电动汽车、电动飞行和电网规模的储能。该项目的教育和外联活动将通过利用非正式环境向更广泛的社区推广科学发现。事实证明，这种非正式环境对STEM中任职人数不足的学生来说是特别有效的学习环境，将通过该项目的活动为他们提供平等的受教育机会。例如，研究人员的YouTube频道将以一种引人入胜的方式向公众传播该项目的结果，提高人们对能源研究重要性的认识，并使未来一代年轻科学家和工程师感到兴奋。该项目的综合研究和教育计划将导致高能量密度的锂金属电池，使美国更接近实现脱碳目标，扩大学习STEM的人数不足的学生的数量，并使美国劳动力多样化，具有全球竞争力。这个基础研究项目将研究锂金属电沉积的纳米级机制；目前对其的理解因同时形成表面腐蚀膜，即固体电解质界面(SEI)而变得复杂。对这些过程的深入了解将使高能电池能够极快地充电。我们的目标是通过将金属电沉积与SEI膜形成分离以独立研究每个过程来弥合这一理解上的差距。该项目的方法将使用超微电极几何结构，以实现超快的电沉积电流密度，其速度可以超过电解液的分解速度。最先进的低温电子显微镜技术将保存形成的纳米级界面并将其成像。该项目的目标是(1)了解和调整与表面腐蚀/SEI形成分离的电沉积形貌，(2)揭示SEI膜的反应动力学，以及(3)利用这些见解设计能够快速充电的高效高能电池。这种方法与以往的工作不同，以往的工作无法将这两个过程分开研究。通过提供Li如何在没有腐蚀膜影响的情况下在本质上生长的第一张图像并量化膜的反应动力学，该项目的结果将为精确调整Li沉积形态提供重要的见解。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Electrochemical deposition of reactive metals is the central process in several important clean energy technologies, including high-energy batteries using metallic anodes. Understanding and engineering these electrochemical systems are critical to achieving the Nation’s goal of a zero-carbon emissions future, where grid-scale energy storage can facilitate renewable yet intermittent sources of green energy (e.g., solar, wind) and the transportation sector is increasingly electrified. The project’s objectives to understand and engineer metal electrodeposition for energy storage will generate broad impact for future technologies that benefit society, including electric vehicles, electric-powered flight, and grid-scale energy storage. The project’s education and outreach activities will promote scientific discoveries to the broader community by leveraging informal settings. Such informal settings have been shown to be particularly effective learning environments for underrepresented students in STEM, for whom equitable access to educational opportunities will be provided through the project’s activities. For example, the researcher's YouTube channel will disseminate the project’s results to the general public in an engaging way, raising awareness for the importance of energy research and exciting the future generation of young scientists and engineers. The project’s integrated research and educational plan will lead to energy-dense lithium metal batteries that bring the US closer to achieving decarbonization goals, expand the number of underrepresented students pursuing STEM, and enable a diverse and globally competitive US workforce.This fundamental research project will investigate the nanoscale mechanism of Li metal electrodeposition; the current understanding of which is complicated by the simultaneous formation of a surface corrosion film, the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI). A deeper understanding of these processes will enable high-energy batteries capable of extreme fast charging. The objective is to bridge this gap in understanding by decoupling metal electrodeposition from SEI film formation to study each process independently. The project’s approach will use ultramicroelectrode geometries to enable ultrafast electrodeposition current densities that can outpace electrolyte decomposition rates. State-of-the-art cryogenic electron microscopy techniques will preserve and image the nanoscale interfaces that form. The project’s objectives are to (1) understand and tune electrodeposition morphologies decoupled from surface corrosion/SEI formation, (2) reveal the reaction kinetics of the SEI film, and (3) use these insights to engineer efficient high-energy batteries capable of fast charging. This approach is distinct from past work, which could not decouple these two processes and study them separately from each other. By providing the first images of how Li grows intrinsically without the influence of a corrosion film and quantifying the film’s reaction kinetics, the project’s results will provide significant insights into precisely tuning Li deposition morphology.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.