Profile
At the Institute fundamental issues in technologically relevant concepts for energy storage:
- High-performance lithium-ion batteries
- High-energy lithium-ion batteries
- Metal-air batteries
- Lithium-free battery concepts
and energy conversion:
- High-temperature fuel cell (SOFC)
- High-temperature electrolysis (SOEC)
- Piezoelectrics
are examined.
The focus is on the elucidation of (defect) structure - property relationships. Currently we are mainly interested in the following questions:
- Charge and mass transfer in mixed ionic / electronic conducting nanoscale oxide materials and glasses
- Defect chemistry and non-stoichiometry in oxide functional materials as a function of doping with aliovalent ions
- Electrocatalysis of oxygen reduction and oxidation in metal-air batteries and fuel cells
- Elucidation of the thermodynamics and kinetics of interfacial reactions
- Mechanistic understanding of aging processes technologically-related components (battery, fuel cell, ...). On this basis, development of methods for life time prediction and accelerated testing.