Please register in advance via Eventbrite. Attendance is free – all welcome, including Imperial alumni, school students, the general public, and staff and students of Imperial and other universities. Seminar followed by refreshments and discussions.
Abstract
Modern batteries are one of the transforming technologies of the late 20th century that have revolutionised our lifestyles through the ubiquitous presence of consumer electronics. Future battery applications promise to be even more diverse, ranging from very low power applications in areas such as sensors and biomedicine through to high power technologies that include grid storage and automotive power trains. These increasingly demanding applications require high energy and power density cells to safely and effectively operate under a wide range of environmental and operating conditions such as high temperatures and high charge and discharge rates.
Battery electrode materials are complex hierarchical structures, where heterogeneities at microscopic length scales are thought to drive macroscopic failure mechanisms. As these materials are likely to evolve over time, in response to range of processing and environmental conditions the relationship between the electrode microstructure and the cell performance evolves: understanding how these changes in microstructure can be linked to understanding of degradation and failure is pivotal to improving device lifetime and safety.
The increasingly widespread use of tomography has revolutionised our understanding of these materials; with increasing sophistication researchers have been able to characterise samples over multiple time and length scales from nm to mm and from ms to days. Here we consider examples of our work to explore these materials in three and “four” dimensions, presenting case studies ranging from characterisation of transport phenomena at nano-metre length scales, to exploring battery failure at millisecond time scales. Furthermore we explore how their application with complementary spectroscopy and correlative microscopy tools can be used to inform a comprehensive understanding of these materials, from the atom to the device.
Biography
Professor Paul Sheering is part of the Department of Chemical Engineering at UCL. In 2006, he graduated with the top first in Chemical Engineering at Birmingham University and in the same year was awarded the university’s Sir John Cadman Prize and the Salter’s Institute Graduate Prize. From 2006-09 he completed a PhD in Dept. Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College under the supervision of Prof Nigel Bandon as part of the UK Supergen Fuel Cells Programme. His thesis “Characterisation of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells in Three-Dimensions” was awarded the Imperial College, Janet Watson Memorial Prize for Research Excellence.
After a short post-doctoral appointment at Imperial, Paul Sheering joined Dept. Chemical Engineering at UCL as a lecturer in July 2011 – shortly after he won a RAEng Research Fellowship entitled, which he held until 2016. Since starting at UCL his research has attracted over £15M funding, including grants from the MRC, RAEng, Office of Naval Research and STFC. Professor Sheering has lead the STFC funded Global Challenge Network in Batteries and Electrochemical Energy Devices, the network brings together leading international researchers from industry and academia. Through this and other projects, he actively engages with industry including Xradia, General Motors, Tata Steel and Praxair.
About IMSE
The Institute for Molecular Science and Engineering (IMSE) is one of Imperial College London’s Global Institutes, drawing on the strength of its four faculties to address some of the grand challenges facing the world today. The Institute’s activities are focused on tackling problems where molecular innovation plays an important role.
The Highlight Seminar Series brings eminent speakers from across the globe to Imperial to increase awareness of areas where molecular science and engineering can make a valuable contribution and to promote exchanges with academic and industrial centres of excellence.