Hierarchical Microstructures for Enhancing Electrochemical Systems

ABSTRACT

Electrochemical devices often require microstructures with distinct regions where electronic and ionic charge motion must occur – separately, but also in unison – as the battery or solar cell device operates. This talk will cover two case studies: (1) our research in templated microstructures applied to dye-sensitized solar cells – where templated microstructures have demonstrated enhanced ionic conductivity, and (2) research in microstructural porosity gradients in lithium ion battery performance. Within this framework we also examine the gradation in microstructure that might ideally be required to fully optimize these devices (because of the variation of ionic-vs-electronic conduction that would be required as a function of depth).

BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Birnie is the Corning/Saint-Gobain Chair in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Rutgers University. He received his BS and PhD degrees from MIT and is deeply involved in solar power and electric vehicle innovation at many levels. His class on “Solar Cell Design and Processing” integrates patents and innovation with practical engineering knowledge to help students evaluate new solar technologies through daily class discussion topics. He also teaches the “Electrochemical Materials and Devices” class, exploring the inner workings of many important electrochemical systems. Prof. Birnie has many years of experience of modeling and measuring how solar power generation overlaps with the emergence of electric transportation, including the aspects where vehicle battery storage can provide resilient power during grid outages.