News
Welcome to our new Ph.D. student Klara Neumayr!
Klara studied Physics at Ludwigs-Maximilian University Munich (LMU) and has expertise in machine-learning-based battery lifetime prediction. Her research will build on that and combine data science methods with electrochemical testing and X-ray scattering of post-Li-ion batteries. The team looks forward to learning from Klara´s expertise in Machine Learning and applying this knowledge to conversion-type battery systems.
– 01/02/2024
Our new SAXS/WAXS facility, XEUSS 3.0 from Xenocs, has arrived! It has been installed in the last three weeks. We are looking forward to the first measurements starting next week. The new SAXS/WAXS facility will be crucial for operando testing post-Li-ion batteries and electrochemical phase conversion in confinement.
– 15/11/2023
Welcome to our new Postdoc Pronoy Dutta!
Pronoy did a PhD at the Department of Physics at the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati. His interdisciplinary background in physics, materials characterization, and synthesis will be ideal for working on electrochemical energy storage in confinement. The team looks forward to working with Pronoy on Na-based energy storage in nanoporous carbons!
– 24/10/2023
In July 2023, Christian Prehal started a tenure-track position at the University of Salzburg (PLUS).
He is looking for motivated Ph.D. candidates and Postdocs with a background in Materials Science, Physics, or Chemistry to work on the ERC Starting Grant project SOLIDCON and
establish the fundamentals of sustainable metal-sulfur batteries.
Key facts: You are joining an interdisciplinary research group in its start-up phase with significant funding from the European Research Council (ERC). You are working on an exciting research project: The ERCStG project SOLIDCON will use real-time SAXS/SANS, cryo-TEM, machine learning, and electrochemical methods to establish the basis of future high-energy batteries. You are working at the University of Salzburg in a new lab building with fantastic facilities for materials research. You are located in Salzburg (Austria), a great place to pursue outdoor activities and enjoy cultural life.
From 10/2023, also Master and Bachelor projects are available. More info: https://www.prehal-lab.eu/jobs
– 06/08/2023
Christian Prehal will move from ETH Zürich to the University of Salzburg (PLUS) in the summer of 2023. He will set up his lab at the Department of Chemistry and Physics of Materials to work on the ERC Starting Grant project SOLIDCON.
Job announcements coming soon!
– 20/01/2023
Department Chemistry and Physics of Materials (C) Christof Reich
We are excited to announce that Christian Prehal has received an ERC Starting Grant and 2.37 M Euro funding to work on next-generation lithium-sulfur batteries. The SOLIDCON project will focus on developing new metrologies, advanced data analysis methods, and understanding the fundamentals of solid-liquid-solid and solid-state sulfur conversion. Based on mesoscopic structuring (1-1000 nm), we aim to realize stable high-energy lithium-sulfur batteries. A big thank you to all the supporters in recent years, to the University of Salzburg, and to the European Research Council (ERC) for funding curiosity-driven fundamental research.
– 22/11/2022
We are happy to share our most recent work on Li-S batteries: Nature Communications 2022
Understanding the fundamentals of the solid-liquid-solid phase conversion between sulfur and lithium sulfide is key to developing practical devices. In this work, we developed methods to quantify the phase evolution at nanometer length scales during battery operation. Our results indicate that the solid discharge products not only consist of nanocrystalline lithium sulfide but also smaller solid polysulfide particles. The derived mechanism and the developed methods provide the foundation for the nanoscale structuring of future Li-S batteries. Great collaborative work between ETH Zürich, Institute of Science and Technology Austria, Kemijski inštitut - National Institute of Chemistry, Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste, and ILL - Institut Laue Langevin.
– 20/10/2022
Check out our latest work on Li-air batteries: ACS Energy Letters 2022
We describe a unified O2 reduction mechanism, which can explain all capacity relations and Li2O2 morphologies with exclusive “solution discharge”. A “surface mechanism” is absent even under previously considered prototypical conditions for the “surface mechanism”.
– 10/08/2022
Welcome to our new Ph.D. student Sven Dunkel!
Sven holds a Bachelor Degree in Mechatronic Engineering from TU Darmstadt and recently completed his Master in Energy Science and Technology at ETH Zurich. With his engineering background and experience in Li-S batteries, he is an excellent fit for our group and the Department in general. His research will focus on hard carbon synthesis for sodium-ion batteries using data-driven process optimization.
– 01/12/2024
