JCESR Renewal

In the Renewal Proposal, we have identified the gaps in scientific knowledge at the atomic and molecular level that, if bridged, will allow transformative new materials to be discovered with unique characteristics that will enable disruptive next generation battery electrochemistries. These five scientific challenges are (i) the science of solvation in liquid electrolytes as a function of space, time and concentration (ii) flowable redoxmers as a platform to enable a new generation of high performance low cost flow batteries, (iii) a unified framework for ionic solvation and transport in solids spanning crystals, glasses, polymers and amorphous materials comprising hard and soft bonds, (iv) mechanisms of charge transfer at interfaces to enable reversible redox reactions and (v) deliberate introduction of defects into ideal materials to control key behavior including transport, phase transitions, stability and activity. By developing a deeper understanding of these five concepts, using state-of-the-art theoretical methods combined with advanced experimental tools, we will embark on a constructionist approach to battery science, with the goal of developing new transformational materials from the bottom up that enable the next generation of energy storage and electrochemical performance. In particular, the emphasis in the Odom group at UK will involve the synthesis and electrochemical characterization of flowable redoxmers, in tandem with studies that determine solubility, liquid-phase speciation, and the effects of solvent organization on redox activity.