CAREER: Fast-Charging Energy Storage Devices Enabled by Modulating Internal Electric Field of Heterostructure

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This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2).Fast-charging capability, as one of the key features of energy storage devices, has drawn extensive interest. It holds great promise to expand or accelerate their applications in many areas, especially for fast-charging electric vehicles to replace internal combustion engine vehicles, as well as stabilizing energy storage from renewable energy sources that are inherently intermittent such as wind and wave energy. However, common energy storage devices, such as batteries, have exhibited severe degradation under fast charging conditions. This Career project is to develop a practical method to develop fast-charging energy storage devices by introducing an internal electric field in the electrode to improve the electrode kinetics and the device performance. The project will host Bootcamp to train rural middle and high school teachers in developing science curricula, equipping them to deliver enriching classroom activities and lectures. Moreover, the project will involve underrepresented students performing science and engineering related projects, especially Native Americans, women, and first-generation college students.The research objective of this Career project aims to develop a novel heterostructure in the electrode to improve the fast-charging capability of energy storage devices by more than 10 times compared with state-of-the-art research studies. Based on the preliminary studies, the central hypothesis is that an internal electric field, generated on the heterointerfaces can accelerate ion transport, enhance electrode kinetics by lowering the energy of activation, and hence improve the performance under fast-charging conditions. It is expected to address this challenge and fundamentally advance the correlation between the electric field of the heterostructure, and the resulting fast-charging performance at the energy storage device level. The major contributions to those multidisciplinary fields lie in several aspects. First, a fundamental understanding will be generated on the effect of the local electric field of the heterostructure on the diffusion coefficient and electrode kinetics. A simulation model will also be created to be integrated with experimental efforts. Second, a knowledge gap will be filled from the material properties of the electrode to the fast-charging functionality of the devices. Third, distinct from conventional nanostructure engineering approaches in state-of-the-art research studies, which have a complex and high-cost fabrication process, introducing a heterostructure in the electrode provides an effective, safe, facile, and transformative approach that remarkably enhances the charge transfer and holds great promise to resolve one of the biggest issues, “long charging time,” of existing energy storage devices. The fundamental study will also open a new door to resolving issues in other energy devices by modulating the electronic structures in the devices.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.