Electrolytes Design for Sustainable Energy Storage: from A Chemical Perspective

 

Electrolytes Design for Sustainable Energy Storage: from A Chemical Perspective

Time: 10:15 - 11:15 am (HKT)

Dr. Ai-Min Li

 

Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering

University of Maryland, College Park

Dr. Ai-Min Li possesses a diverse and interdisciplinary research background, spanning organic chemistry, supramolecular assembly, crystalline material design (including MOFs, COFs, and Zintl clusters), and electrochemical engineering. He earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (Germany) in 2018 and then joined the University of Maryland, College Park (UMD) as a postdoctoral researcher. Dr. Li is currently appointed as an assistant research scientist in Prof. Chunsheng Wang’s research group (https://cswang.umd.edu/) at UMD. His research interest focuses on developing advanced electrolytes and novel electrode materials for next-generation batteries, the outcome of which has been published in leading journals such as Nature Chemistry, Nature Energy, Nature Nanotechnology, Nature Communications, Joule, Chem, and Advanced Materials, … etc. He has also applied for three invention patents for energy storage, all of which have been licensed to related companies for commercialization. Driven by a commitment to advancing energy storage technology, Dr. Li aims to address today’s critical energy challenges using chemical knowledge and to provide insights from both fundamental and practical perspectives toward a sustainable and clean energy future.

Electrolyte design has emerged as a critical interdisciplinary field, offering significant potential to advance conventional Li-ion batteries toward next-generation energy storage with enhanced energy density, faster charging rate, and broader operational temperature ranges. In my recent work, by leveraging the stability of chemical and electrochemical stability for both organic solvents and conducting salts, high cycle performance can be achieved in promising battery materials, including high-energy Li metal, micro-sized Si, Na metal anodes, and cost-effective Ni-rich NMC and sulfur-based cathodes. This presentation will discuss the design principles for state-of-the-art electrolytes with an emphasis on chemical, solvation optimization, and electrolyte-electrode interphase engineering.