HIU Seminar | Prof. Neeraj Sharma
Prof. Neeraj Sharma will be guest during the upcoming HIU Seminar taking place on Thursday, 18th September 2025 at 11am: The talk will be held in person in the large seminar room (230) at the HIU and streamed under the usual Zoom link: The title of the talk will be “Crystallography of oxides, battery materials and entire devices".
Abstract
This talk will be divided into three short parts highlighting the range of research that is undertaken in my group.
First, our work exploring new oxides for low and zero thermal expansion materials will be highlighted. My team have found extremely thermally stable materials, materials with effectively a zero coefficient of thermal expansion from 4 to 1400 K. We have developed a wide range of compositions showing low thermal expansion and now are exploring the pressure-based response of these materials, do they show low/zero coefficients of thermal expansion at different pressures?
Second, our work on understanding battery materials and devices will be showcased. A large proportion of the function of batteries arises from the electrodes, and these are in turn mediated by the atomic-scale perturbations during an electrochemical process (e.g., battery use). My team uses a combination of techniques, ex situ, in situ and operando to understand how atomic scale evolution impacts performance. In particular, the operando work results in an atomic level “video” of device function which can be directly correlated to performance parameters such as energy density, lifetime (or degradation), rate capability and safety. Examples using operando neutron and synchrotron powder diffraction to probe lithium- and sodium-ion battery materials and ex situ solid-state NMR to probe lithium-sulfur battery materials will be discussed.
Finally, I will discuss the notion of sustainability in battery materials and processes – how green can we make the batteries of the future? Can we design battery materials to be completely sustainable? Can we avoid using toxic chemicals in the production of electrodes? Can we be clever about recycling? Various examples will be presented which will hopefully encourage further ideas and research in this space.