DMI/MEMS Seminar Presented by Prof. Yan Yao

Abstract: All-solid-state batteries are regarded as one of the future energy storage technologies capable of competing with the state-of-the-art Li-ion batteries. Despite tremendous progress, the performance of all-solid-state metal batteries remains unsatisfactory. In this seminar, I will present the key challenges confronting all-solid-state batteries, ranging from fundamental knowledge gap in understanding major failure mechanisms to issues in solid-state battery manufacturing issues. The complex origins of battery failure necessitate multimodal tools capable of quantifying void and dendrites, identifying chemical and mechanical properties and monitoring the processes in situ. We have developed a suite of methods for structural, chemical, and mechanical characterizations that include operando-SEM, ToF-SIMS, and nanoindentation-based stiffness mapping. Materials innovations are equally important. We show how soft organic redox materials could enable intimate interfacial contact with solid electrolytes under low operating pressure. Additionally, we have developed an oxysulfide glass electrolyte that forms a thin, dense, self-limiting interphase against Na metal and exhibits a fully dense glass microstructure. We investigated the role of an interlayer between a lithium metal anode and solid electrolyte that prevents lithium dendrite formation and allow reversible lithium plating and stripping over 2500 cycles. Finally, we will discuss our recent efforts in battery manufacturing and the establishment of a battery prototyping facility at UH.