Advancing cation-disordered electrode materials for high performing and sustainable batteries

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The proposed research program aims to accelerate the discovery of energy-storage materials for cost-effective and high-energy batteries to be used in advanced applications, including electric vehicles and large-scale green energy storage. We approached this via experimental and theoretical studies of so-called cation-disordered electrode materials, which are receiving significant attention in advanced Li/Na-battery applications as they can be made of inexpensive elements and can deliver ~50% high energy per weight than traditional cathode materials. A group of 3 Ph.D. students, 2 Masters' students, 4 undergraduate trainees, and 1 postdoctoral fellow will conduct three constructively correlated pieces of research: (i) The first thrust focuses on the discovery of new ultrahigh-energy cation-disordered materials with novel redox mechanism through a systematic exploration of the compositional space, in situ material characterization, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. In particular, we focus on discovering Mn/Fe-based compounds because Mn and Fe are highly abundant transition metals; thus, our materials can resolve the resource-constraint issue of current Li-ion technology utilizing expensive/rare cobalt (Co) to store energy. (ii) The second thrust focuses on developing new synthesis-processing methods amenable to scale-up production of the cation-disordered materials. While the cation-disordered materials hold promises for advanced batteries, their synthesis-processing methods have not been suitable for scaled-up production and involve a pulverization process which introduces defects in the compounds. We aim to develop novel methods that can address these issues while facilitating the commercial use of cation-disordered battery materials simultaneously. (iii) Finally, we will analyze the structural stability of the cation-disordered materials and their compatibility with functional electrolytes by using experiments (e.g., electrochemistry, X-ray tools, electron-microscopy) and DFT modeling, to develop advanced Li-batteries (e.g., Li-metal/solid-state) with long cycle life. We expect that our new materials consisting of dirt-cheap metals (Mn, Fe) will accelerate the development of high performing and cost-effective batteries by decreasing the cost-to-store energy ($/kWh) at the cathode side at least by a factor of two. Also, the investigation of the structure-processing-properties relationship of our novel materials will highlight the importance of materials science to the development of energy-storage materials, as our previous achievements (e.g., publications in Nature, Science) demonstrate. As such, our program will address critical issues in the development of sustainable and high performing batteries and will provide a fertile ground for training students/postdocs. Moreover, international collaboration will be sought to maximize the outcomes of this program, hence advancing Canada's leadership in green energy storage technology.