Neil gave an invited talk at the 2020 Batteries Gordon Research Conference (GRC), and was elected as one of the conference co-chairs for the next Batteries GRC meeting. [ME highlight]
Author: ndasgupt
Invited talk at Iowa State University
Neil gave an invited talk in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Iowa State University. Thanks Prof. Steve Martin for the invitation!
Eric Kazyak Defends Ph.D. Thesis
Eric Kazyak successfully defended his Ph.D. Dissertation, entitled “Operando Visualization and Interfacial Engineering of Li Metal Anodes”. Congratulations Dr. Kazyak!
New paper on ALD for enhanced interfacial adhesion of polymers
Our new paper “Enhanced Interfacial Toughness of Thermoplastic-Epoxy Interfaces using ALD Surface Treatments” is published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. In this paper, we demonstrate that ALD coatings on chemically-inert polymers (Teflon, PMMA) can significantly enhance adhesion to epoxy, which is linked to tuning surface energy of the polymer. Double-Cantilever Beam (DCB) measurements of interfacial toughness against epoxy demonstrate an increase by up to 60x after ALD. [link]
New paper on in situ XANES of ALD processes
Our new paper “Elucidating the Evolving Atomic Structure in Atomic Layer Deposition Reactions with In Situ XANES and Machine Learning” is published in Chemistry of Materials. In this paper, we perform in situ synchrotron x-ray absorption analysis of ALD reactions in the initial cycles. Wee introduce a new platform for high-throughput screening of thousands of possible atomic configurations in first-principles models to fit the XANES spectra, demonstrating a synergistic approach that leverages machine learning techniques for atomic-scale modeling of surface chemistry. [link]
236th ECS Meeting
Neil organized the “Solid-State Batteries” session at the ECS Fall Meeting in Atlanta, and our group gave 5 talks, including presentations from Eric, Michael, and Adrian.
New Ph.D. students
Welcome to our newest Ph.D. students: Alondra Ortiz, Daniel Penley, and Tae Cho!
ECS Toyota Young Investigator Fellowship
Neil is a recipient of the 2019 ECS Toyota Young Investigator Fellowship. The fellowship aims to encourage young professors and scholars to pursue innovative electrochemical research in green energy technology. Through this fellowship, ECS and Toyota hope to see further innovative and unconventional technologies borne from electrochemical research. [press release]
AVS-ALD Conference
The group had 6 talks at the 19th International Conference on Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD2019) in Bellevue, Washington, including talks from Ashley, Andrew D., Tae, Yuxin, and Neil.
Invited talk at University of Toronto
Neil gave an invited talk at University of Toronto. Thanks Prof. Ted Sargent for the invitation!