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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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Prof. Nian Liu
School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology
Email: nian.liu@chbe.gatech.edu
Title : Zn-based batteries are a safe alternative to Li-ion due to compatibility with aqueous electrolyte. Also, the theoretical volumetric energy density of Zn-based batteries (e.g. Zn-air) is more than twice the one of conventional Li-ion batteries and is ~85% of Li-sulfur batteries. The above two advantages plus the abundance of zinc render Zn-based aqueous batteries attractive for large-scale energy storage (e.g. electric vehicle, grid-scale storage). However, the Zn anode in aqueous electrolyte is historically not deeply-rechargeable, which has to be addressed for broad application of Zn-based batteries. The root cause of the lack of rechargeability stems from the passivation of ZnO discharge product, and dissolution of zincate intermediate. In this talk, I will show a series of our recent efforts on addressing the rechargeability issue of aqueous Zn anodes via nanoscale material design. The design principles shown in this talk are expected to inspire the design of other electrodes for post-Li-ion batteries.
Abstract : Nian Liu is an Assistant Professor at Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering since January 2017. He received his B.S. in 2009 from Fudan University (China), and Ph.D. in 2014 from Stanford University, where he worked with Prof. Yi Cui on the structure design for Si anodes for high-energy Li-ion batteries. In 2014-2016, he worked with Prof. Steven Chu at Stanford University as a postdoc, where he developed in situ optical microscopy to probe beam-sensitive battery reactions. Dr. Liu’s lab at Georgia Tech is broadly interested in the combination of nanomaterials, electrochemistry, and light microscopy for understanding and addressing the global energy challenges. Dr. Liu is the recipient of the Electrochemical Society (ECS) Daniel Cubicciotti Award (2014) and American Chemical Society (ACS) Division of Inorganic Chemistry Young Investigator Award (2015).
