Engineering ion solvation and charging rate near the electrolyte-electrode interface

PIs: PI: Jian Qin, Chemical Engineering, Qin Group

The deposition rate of lithium ions and cycling stability during fast charging are tightly linked to the solvation structure of lithium ions in bulk electrolytes and near electrolyte-electrode interface. This project will combine theory and simulation to investigate the spatial variation of the dielectric screening, the ion solvation structure near the interface, and the solvent reorganization free energy. The goal is to identify the molecular properties, such as charge distribution and polarizability, that impact the heterogeneous features near electrode.