Events Calendar

AME Seminar

Speaker: Ming Tang, Rice University

Talk Title: Elucidating the thermodynamic origins of reaction heterogeneity in lithium-ion batteries

Abstract: During battery cycling, pronounced reaction non-uniformity frequently develops at multiple length scales within electrodes, which adversely impacts battery performance and life by inducing capacity under-utilization, stress concentration and over-(dis)charging. While heterogeneous reactions are typically attributed to mass transport limitations, thermodynamic factors also play an important role and need to be clarified for developing effective mitigation strategies. At the particle level, we reveal how stress could destabilize the lithium (de)lithiation front in single crystalline and polycrystalline intercalation compounds. Stress also provides a fundamental thermodynamic driving force for dendrite growth on lithium metal anodes, which is shown to be effectively suppressed by stress relief. At the cell level, we discover that the reaction distribution within the porous electrode is strongly influenced by how the equilibrium potential of the active material varies with the state of charge. Two types of reaction behavior are identified for common electrode materials, which have significant implications for their applications in thick electrodes. Based on this finding, an analytical model is formulated to provide highly efficient battery performance predictions and optimization in place of traditional battery cell simulations.

Biography: Ming Tang is an Associate Professor in the Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering at Rice University. After receiving a Ph.D. degree in Materials Science and Engineering from MIT, He worked at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory as a Lawrence Postdoctoral Fellow and then a staff scientist. In 2013 he joined Shell Oil as a materials and corrosion engineer, and became an assistant professor at Rice University in 2015. His group is currently interested in applying combined modeling and experimental methods to understand mesoscale phenomena in energy storage systems and use the acquired knowledge to guide microstructure design. He is a recipient of the DOE Early Career Award.

Host: AME Department

More Info: https://usc.zoom.us/j/93987337017?pwd=MWd2dXBSL1FaR1RPaHNscjJ1NW80UT09

Webcast: https://usc.zoom.us/j/93987337017?pwd=MWd2dXBSL1FaR1RPaHNscjJ1NW80UT09

WebCast Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/93987337017?pwd=MWd2dXBSL1FaR1RPaHNscjJ1NW80UT09

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Tessa Yao

Event Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/93987337017?pwd=MWd2dXBSL1FaR1RPaHNscjJ1NW80UT09