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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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THE SCHOOL OF MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Under the provisions of the regulations for the degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
on Friday, May 12, 2017
9:00 AM
in Love 210
will be held the
DISSERTATION DEFENSE
for
Jilai Ding
“PROBING COMPLEX IONIC DYNAMICS ON THE NANOSCALE VIA ENERGY DISCOVERY PLATFORMS”
Committee Members:
Dr. Nazanin Bassiri-Gharb, Advisor, ME/MSE
Dr. Raymond R. Unocic, ME
Dr. Meilin Liu, MSE
Dr. Rosario Gerhardt, MSE
Dr. Faisal Alamgir, MSE
Abstract:
Ionic dynamics underpin the functionalities of a broad spectrum of materials and devices ranging from energy storage and conversion, to sensors and catalytic devices. Electrochemical reactivity and ionic transport in these systems is, however, a complex process, controlled by the interplay of charge injection and field-controlled and diffusion-controlled transport, which are often very sensitive to the environmental conditions, microstructures and defect structures of the material.
This research uncovers complex ionic dynamics in functional oxides via energy discovery platforms, which combine microfabricated lateral devices with in-situ characterization techniques. To be specific, the water decomposition reactivity and proton conduction mechanisms are investigated in two ionic conducting oxides: nanostructured ceria (NC) and yttrium-doped barium zirconate (Y-BZO). By utilizing characterization techniques such as time-resolved Kelvin probe force microscopy (tr-KPFM), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and theoretical analysis such as finite element method (FEM), the effects of external conditions such as temperature, humidity and atmosphere and internal conditions such as film crystallinity, surface roughness, dopant concentration and lattice strain on the transport mechanisms of these materials systems are identified.
The comprehensive structure-property relationship study of these materials not only showcases the feasibility of energy discovery platforms in complex ionic dynamics study on the nanoscale, but also facilitate material and device design with better performance and reliability.
