CAREER: Laser modified transport in electrochemical materials

该项目将研究激光照射下多孔材料的电化学和物理修饰的多尺度机制。在电化学系统中基于激光的材料改性方法为加工提供了一个本质上的新维度，因为它们在多个长度尺度上影响材料的结构和性能。这项研究的重点是激光处理在微米和纳米尺度上影响电化学性能的基本机制以及激光与多相材料相互作用的基本机制。实验将选定体系的激光加工与详细的结构和电化学表征以及开发相应的理论模型相结合。这项研究的成功实施不仅将对以明确定义和控制的方式优化电池材料的能力产生实际影响，而且还将这种理解扩展到其他介孔和多相材料系统，如生物材料、聚合物、复合材料、陶瓷、胶体和其他快速增长的复杂材料领域。PI将活跃在大学层面，开发课程并指导传统学科的研究生和本科生；在专业和国际层面，通过接待NSF美非材料研究所计划下的非洲研究人员，他们将参与这些研究目标；在地方和国家层面，通过为当地科学博物馆和K-12课堂开发社区推广模块和研讨会。非技术解释便携式能源的现有和未来需求要求先进的电池和电化学存储设备在比功率、容量、循环寿命和高倍率行为方面具有更好的性能。工艺的发展导致了新材料的出现，随之而来的是需要更深入地了解影响设备性能的潜在科学问题。在这个项目中，基于激光的新方法被用来在多个长度尺度上影响材料的结构和性能。通过对这些复合材料的激光改性过程以及由此产生的电化学性质的详细研究，本研究确立了在这类具有重要技术意义的材料中加工与性能之间的重要关系。通过结合激光材料加工和电化学能量存储领域的研究，该项目将为两个社区提供重要的新知识，并将对以明确定义和控制的方式优化电池材料的能力产生实际影响。这项工作本质上是跨学科的，再加上总体上对电池文化的熟悉，使得各种背景和教育水平的学生都可以接触到综合教育内容。

TECHNICAL EXPLANATIONThis project will investigate multiscale mechanisms underlying the electrochemical and physical modification of porous materials undergoing laser irradiation. Laser based approaches to materials modifications in electrochemical systems enable an essentially new dimension to processing, since they affect material structures and properties on multiple length scales. The proposed research focuses on the fundamental mechanisms by which laser processing affects electrochemical performance on the micro and nanoscale and the fundamental mechanisms of laser interactions with multiphase materials. Experiments combine laser processing of selected systems with detailed structural and electrochemical characterization and the development of corresponding theoretical models. The successful implementation of this research will not only have a practical effect on the ability to optimize battery materials in a well-defined and controlled fashion, but also extend that understanding into other mesoporous and multiphase material systems such as biomaterials, polymers, composites, ceramics, colloids, and other rapidly growing areas in complex materials. The PI will be active at the university level, developing courses and mentoring both graduate and undergraduate students across traditional disciplines; at the professional and international level by hosting African researchers under the NSF US-Africa Materials Research Institute program who will participate in these research objectives; and at the local and national, level by developing community outreach modules and workshops for local science museums and K-12 classrooms.NON-TECHNICAL EXPLANATIONExisting and future needs in portable energy call for advanced battery and electrochemical storage devices with improved performance in terms of specific power, capacity, cycle life, and high rate behavior. Developments in processing have led to new materials, and with them, the need for a deeper understanding of the underlying scientific issues that affect the device performance. In this project, novel laser-based approaches are used to affect material structures and properties on multiple length scales. Through a detailed study of the laser modification processes in these complex materials, and the resulting electrochemical properties, this research establishes the important relationship between processing and performance in this technologically significant class of materials. In combining research from the fields of laser materials processing and electrochemical energy storage, this project will provide significant new knowledge to both communities, and will have a practical effect on the ability to optimize battery materials in a well-defined and controlled fashion. The inherently interdisciplinary nature of this work, combined with the cultural familiarity of batteries in general, enables an integrated educational component that is accessible to students from all backgrounds and educational levels.