Eric Detsi, Pd.D./M.D. - US grants

This award supports the purchase of a state-of-the-art X-ray scattering instrument that will be operated as an open-access facility within the Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter (LRSM), host of an NSF-funded MRSEC at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn). The Xeuss 2.0 from Xenocs allows the structural characterization over length scales from 0.09 to 600 nm and thus facilitates study of hierarchical structures in a wide range of hard and soft materials. The anticipated scope of materials to be studied includes metals, ceramics, plastics, biological tissue, and novel combinations of these. The instrument will also play a vital role in the materials education and training of the many high school, undergraduate and graduate students, visiting scientists, post-doctoral associates and local high school teachers who participate in LRSM programs. The facility will also develop and administer workshops and online training materials to promote its broad use by beginners and to fully develop expert-users and thus promote knowledge exchange and technology transfer. The open-access facility will be used by scientists and engineers from local companies and colleges/universities to advance their research. Besides providing unique training in fields critical for US technological competitiveness, the discoveries and understanding facilitated by the new instrumentation will underpin future technologies, thereby informing industry, stimulating the economy, and offering benefits to society at large.

This grant enables the purchase of a state-of-the-art X-ray scattering instrument for an open-access facility within the Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter (LRSM), host of an NSF-funded MRSEC at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn). The Xeuss 2.0 by Xenocs enables materials characterization across an extraordinarily wide range of cutting-edge research programs at Penn and in the Philadelphia/Delaware-Valley region. The dual Cu-Mo source and adjustable sample to detector distances provide structural information at both high and low spatial resolution across a wide range of length scales (0.09 to 600 nm). An assortment of sample environments enables materials to be manipulated in situ and operando to probe their structural evolution in response to temperature, tensile stress and electric/magnetic fields, even in humid and liquid environments. Thus, the instrument will advance research on the synthesis, fabrication, processing, and assembly of a wide range of materials systems, and will provide crucial insight about structure relevant to their chemical, electrical, magnetic, mechanical, optical, thermal, and transport properties. The anticipated materials usage portfolio includes nanoporous metals for catalysis and energy storage; nanocrystals, nanorods, and nanocrystal superlattices for light harvesting; polymer nanocomposite films for thermal management, optical properties, and scratch resistance; acid- and ion-containing polymers displaying micro-phase separation for ion transport; dendrons, dendrimers, and their self-assembled structures; hierarchical polymer-based films for controlled wetting; chromonic liquid crystals with novel self-assembled structures and phase transitions; inorganic microlaminated thin films wherein fabrication methods control magnetic properties; thin film molecular glasses with controlled stability and toughness; hierarchical protein structures in squid lenses and other tissues; polycarbonates in ionic liquids to manipulate chemical reactivity; and oriented protein films for electromechanical coupling. The new instrumentation is critical for at least 17 research groups, including 12 from Penn spanning 7 academic departments, and 3 from local universities. Additionally, the instrument will advance proprietary/open-publication research of nearby industrial partners. The Xeuss 2.0 will play a vital role in the materials education and training of the many high school, undergraduate and graduate students, visiting scientists, post-doctoral associates and local high school teachers who participate in LRSM programs.

New forms of energy storage needed for our national prosperity requires the development of new materials and processes. This EArly-concept Grant for Exploratory Research (EAGER) will support fundamental research that will contribute to new insight on processing nanostructured silicon, which may serve as a high performance anode material for magnesium-ion batteries. Magnesium ion batteries have been suggested as a safe and inexpensive alternative to the more conventional lithium ion batteries. This research looks to overcome the fundamental barrier that restricts the storage of magnesium in nanostructured silicon, and study the relationship between the new processing route and the material performance. The surface of conventionally processed nanostructured silicon is covered with native silicon oxide, which restricts the storage of magnesium in silicon. The new processing route investigated here promises to lead to oxide-free nanostructured silicon, making it possible to reversibly store magnesium. The relationship between the size of the synthesized nanostructured silicon, the synthesis parameter, and the storage performance will be determined. Results from this research will open the way to the use of silicon -- the second most abundant element in the earth's crust, in a magnesium battery, which will benefit the US economy and society. In particular, it will lessen the concern of the material shortage in lithium and cobalt, which are currently used in rechargeable batteries.

Reversible electrochemical alloying reaction of nanostructured silicon with magnesium remains a challenge. In this project, it is hypothesized that processing of oxide-free nanostructured silicon is the key to successful alloying reaction of silicon with magnesium. To verify this hypothesis, a new in situ processing route to oxide-free nanostructured silicon will be investigated. This process creates the nanostructured material in situ in a magnesium-ion battery cell when the battery is being charged and discharged. The reversible alloying reactions of silicon with magnesium will be directly investigated in the same magnesium-ion battery cell throughout charging and discharging cycles. This processing approach makes it possible to avoid any exposure of the nanostructured silicon to air, thus avoiding the formation of undesirable native silicon oxide surface films that hamper the reaction between silicon and magnesium.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

While lithium-ion batteries have become increasingly popular in applications such as electric vehicles and grid energy storage, the roll-to-roll process used to manufacture these batteries is significantly inefficient. Furthermore, the recycling yield of materials used as electrodes in these batteries is very low. In addition, there are substantial geopolitical risks associated with the supply chains of critical elements such as the lithium and cobalt materials used in lithium-ion batteries. This Future Manufacturing Research Grant (FMRG) EcoManufacturing award will support fundamental research to eliminate these drawbacks by enabling a cross-disciplinary team of researchers from academia, a national laboratory and industry to investigate a novel Eco Manufacturing route to lithium- and cobalt-free three-dimensional solid-state sodium-ion batteries in which the solid electrolyte is made of polymer composites, and the electrodes are solely made of Earth-abundant elements such as sodium, potassium, manganese and nickel. The battery manufacturing concept only involves direct ink writing-based 3D printing in combination with solid-state conversion and capillary rise infiltration. These are sustainable processes that eliminate several deficiencies encountered in the conventional roll-to-roll battery manufacturing method. In addition to the research effort described above, the team plans to train the battery workforce of the next generation by creating an innovative hybrid online/in-person education and workforce development program called the Northeast Battery Workforce Training Program (NBWTP). This workforce program targets adult-learners, career-seekers without academic degrees in the field of batteries, underrepresented minorities (URMs), and veterans returning to civilian life, who will be trained to become “Battery Ready Vets.” Industrial partners and the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at Penn will contribute to the development of this innovative workforce training program.

To eliminate the deficiencies encountered in the conventional roll-to-roll battery manufacturing process, the team will develop a sustainable route to three-dimensional solid-state sodium-ion batteries based on the following six integrated thrusts: Thrust #1 (Scaffold thrust) will use direct ink writing to print a three-dimensional porous metal scaffold with both microscale and macroscale pores. Thrust #2 (Cathode thrust) will use solid-state conversion to partially convert the microscale pore walls of the scaffold into a cathode, resulting in a three-dimensional scaffold/cathode composite. Thrust #3 (Polymer electrolyte thrust) will investigate two polymer-based solid-state electrolytes infiltrated in the microscale pores of the scaffold/cathode composite using capillary rise infiltration. Thrust #4 (Anode and full battery thrust) will use capillary rise infiltration to impregnate the macroscale pores with a “self-healing” sodium anode and make the full three-dimensional solid-state sodium-ion battery. To eliminate sodium dendrite-induced short-circuiting and achieve ultralong cycle life, the “self-healing” sodium anode will transform into a liquid when the battery is operating at moderate temperatures. Thrust #5 (Recycling thrust) will use air-free electrolytic leaching to recycle used batteries. Thrust #6 (Workforce thrust) will establish a self-sustained hybrid online/in-person workforce development program to train future battery workers. This workforce training includes a professional certificate program consisting of online courses offered through Canvas Network in the form of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs).

This Future Manufacturing award is supported by the Division of Materials Research (DMR) in the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS) and co-funded by the Division of Chemistry (CHE) in MPS, the Division of Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI) in the Directorate for Engineering (ENG), and the Division of Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems (ECCS) in ENG.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

This award is jointly supported by the Major Research Instrumentation and the Chemistry Research Instrumentation programs. The University of Pennsylvania is acquiring an X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) source with synchrotron-quality spectra capabilities to support the research of Professor Daniel Mindiola and colleagues Marisa Kozlowski, Eric Detsi and Neil C. Tomson. This instrument facilitates research in the areas of chemistry, engineering, and materials science. XAFS reveals local structural analysis and collecton information about the unoccupied local electronic states of solid and solution state materials. XAFS is the spectroscopic method of choice for characterizing the structural and electronic properties of new molecules as well as for predicting and explaining resulting reactivity. Spectra reveal information about oxidation state assignments and the degree of covalency in bonding and coordination environments, while allowing for the characterization of bulk material in solid and solution state phases. This instrument enhances the educational, research, and teaching efforts of students at all levels in many departments as well as provides accessibility for use at nearby institutions.

The award of the XAFS source is aimed at enhancing research and education at all levels, especially in areas such as chemistry, engineering, and materials science. Research focuses on nitrogen activation by iron compounds; precatalysts, oxidized precatalysts, and isolated reaction species for paramagnetic species; and model surface investigations are pursued. In addition, other investigations include nanomaterial preparation and the study of electrochemical energy storage systems involving nanoporous electrodes, and liquid electrodes. It also assists in the use of electrocatalysts for the reduction of carbon dioxide to carbon-containing organic compounds, the characterization of exsolution-synthesized stable and coking-resistant heterogeneous catalysts, exploration of nickel catalyzed carbon-carbon bond forming reactions, and the study of catalytic systems for energy relevant reactions.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.