Project Info
Lithium-Air battery testing: understanding the impact of conductive binders
Steven DeCaluwe| decaluwe@mines.edu
The project involves Lithium-air batteries which are very promising for electric vehicle commercialization because of their high energy-to-mass ratio (i.e. long distances between recharging). The research will address one specific challenge for this exciting technology.
Moreover, the student will gain experience with electrochemical battery testing in the lab and, if interesting, numerical modeling of batteries, providing them with critical skills relevant to clean energy research and development.
More Information
Interested students can read about the larger project on which this project is based at my research website:
http://inside.mines.edu/~decaluwe/projects.html
It is the first project listed: “In operando Neutron Reflectometry for Structure-property Relationships in Thin Films.”
Grand Engineering Challenge: Not applicable
Student Preparation
Qualifications
Comfortable working in the lab and reasonably comfort working with writing software in Python.
Understanding of basic thermodynamics.
Time Commitment
20 hours/month
Skills/Techniques Gained
Assembly and testing of laboratory-scale batteries.
Materials processing and working with materials in a glove box.
Electrochemical testing with simultaneous mass spectrometry.
Data processing and visualization.
Numerical simulation of electrochemical devices.
Mentoring Plan
The student will meet with the faculty advisor once per week, alternating between whole-group lab meetings and individual research meetings. The student will also be mentored by a PhD student working on the broader research project.