Reinventing Batteries Through Materials Design
​​​Yi Cui

Abstract 
The fast growth of portable power sources for transportation and grid-scale stationary storage presents great opportunities for battery development. The invention of lithium ion batteries has been recognized with Nobel Prize in 2019. How to increase energy density, reduce cost, speed up charging, extend life, enhance safety and reuse/recycle are critical challenges. Here I will present the 156 year research in my lab to reinvent batteries and address many of challenges by understanding the materials and interfaces through new tools and providing guiding principles for design. The topics to be discussed include: 1) A breakthrough tool of cryogenic electron microscopy, leading to atomic scale resolution of fragile battery materials and interfaces. 2) Materials design to enable high capacity materials: Si and Li metal anodes and S cathodes. 3) Interfacial design with polymer and inorganic coating to enhance cycling efficiency of battery electrodes. 4) Materials design for safety enhancement. 6) Lithium extraction from sea water and for battery recycling. 7) New battery chemistry for grid scale storage.



Prof. Yi Cui is a Chinese-American materials scientist specializing in nanotechnology and energy and environment-related research. He is a Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Stanford University and a Stanford Photon Science of SLAC faculty member. He is currently serving as the Precourt Institute for Energy director and a co-director of the Battery500 Consortium, Bay Area Photovoltaics Consortium, and the StorageX initiative. Prof. Cui is also the Executive Editor of Nano Letters from ACS Publications.
Cui is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), Electrochemical Society (ECS), and the Materials Research Society (MRS). Cui has published over 520 research papers with an H-index of 221.