Special Lecture by Prof. Nicola Perry (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
Date: March 18th, 2024, 15:00-16:30 (Tentative)
Place: Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials, Tohoku University
Title:
Solid-State Ionics for Energy Applications: Design and Discovery Through the Lens of Defect Chemistry
Abstract:
Point defect-mediated properties in oxides, particularly chemical expansivity, catalytic activity, and ionic
conductivity, govern performance of solid-state electrochemical energy devices. This presentation will
demonstrate both systematic experiments on model compositions and high-throughput screening methods touncover design principles and materials that can extend the efficiency or lifetime of fuel cells, electrolyzers,
and all-solid-state batteries. In one example, we have developed near-zero-chemical-strain electrodes andmembranes for enhanced durability by tailoring the location of redox (anion vs. cation) and crystal symmetry.
In a second example, we have dramatically increased the oxygen surface exchange coefficient of fuelcell/electrolyzer electrodes - critical for efficiency - by orders of magnitude through a new in-situ
crystallization route that preserves a pristine surface chemistry and produces a beneficial defect chemistry
for charge transfer. Lastly, for Li-ion batteries, we have developed a defect-focused descriptor filter toidentify (from ~20,000 candidates in the Materials Project database) air-stable superionic solid electrolytes
with intrinsic Li sublattice disorder and compatibility with high/low voltage electrodes. High-throughput
characterization methods and low-thermal-budget processing routes for solid-state ionic materials developedin the course of the work will be addressed.
Nicola H. Perry received her Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from
Northwestern University in 2009, for investigating interfacial transport behavior innano-ionics with Thomas O. Mason. After this, she joined the Energy Frontier
Research Center for Inverse Design as a postdoctoral fellow, developing p-typetransparent conducting oxides and synthesizing missing materials. From 2012-2014
she was a postdoctoral researcher at the International Institute for Carbon-Neutral
Energy Research (I2CNER) at Kyushu University, Japan, and a visiting scholar atMIT, working with Harry L. Tuller. From 2014-2017 she served as a World PremierInitiative Assistant Professor at I2CNER and as a Research Affiliate at MIT, where
her research focused on mixed ionic and electronic conducting oxides for hightemperature electrochemical energy conversion and storage. She joined UIUC inJanuary 2018, where she leads a group in tailoring and understanding point defect-mediated properties inelectro-chemo-mechanically active oxides and halides. Her research has been recognized with the NSF
CAREER Award, DOE Early Career Award, JSPS Kakehni Awards, UIUC Dean's Award for Excellence in
Research, and IUMRS Award for Encouragement of Research, J. Bruce Wagner Jr. Award from theElectrochemical Society, and the Edward C. Henry and Richard M. Fulrath Awards from the American
Ceramic Society.
Her research seeks to understand and design dynamic behavior in a class of inorganic materials called“solid state ionics.” These materials enable carbon-neutral energy technologies, including fuel/electrolysis
cells and batteries, to store and convert energy between chemical and electrical forms cleanly. She hasdeveloped a scientific foundation that enables the engineering of key material properties that control theenergy conversion/storage efficiency and lifetime: 1) chemical expansivity, 2) ionic/electronic conductivity,and 3) interfacial reaction kinetics. Her recent work has sought to uncover and leverage the operando
coupling among electrical, chemical, mechanical, and optical states of solid-state-ionic materials, which isessential for tailoring the key properties for improved device performance.
Contact:
Prof. Koji Amezawa (koji.amezawa.b3@tohoku.ac.jp), IMRAM, Tohoku University
Prof. Hitoshi Takamura (takamura@material.tohoku.ac.jp), Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku
University
This special lecture is co-organized by Tohoku Ionics Research Group, The Electrochemical Society of JapanTOHOKU Branch, and SOFC/SOEC Social Implementation Center at Tohoku University.