Papadakis Integrated Sciences Building, Room 108

“Nanostructured Materials for High Energy Density Supercapacitors
and Lithium Ion Batteries”

Gleb Yushin

Professor

Nanotech at Georgia Tech
 

Abstract

High power energy storage devices, such as supercapacitors and Li-ion batteries, are critical for the development of zero-emission electrical vehicles, large scale smart grid, and energy efficient cargo ships and locomotives. The energy storage characteristics of supercapacitors and Li-ion batteries are mostly determined by the specific capacities of their electrodes, while their power characteristics are influenced by the maximum rate of the ion transport. The talk will focus on the development of nanocomposite electrodes capable to improve both the energy and power storage characteristics of the state of the art devices. Advanced ultra-high surface area carbons, carbon-metal oxide and carbon-polymer nanocomposites have been demonstrated to greatly exceed the specific capacitance of traditional electrodes for supercapacitors. In addition, selected materials showed the unprecedented ultra-fast charging and discharging characteristics. Rationally designed carbon-silicon-polymer nanocomposites showed up to 8 times higher specific capacity than graphite, the conventional anode material in Li-ion batteries, and stable performance for over 1000 cycles. In order to overcome the limitations of traditional composites precise control over the materials’ structure and porosity at the nanoscale was required.

Biography

Gleb Yushin is currently an Associate Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology. Prof. Yushin joined the Georgia Tech faculty as an Assistant Professor in July of 2007 after serving as a postdoctoral associate and as an Assistant Research Professor at Drexel University. Since joining Georgia Tech, Prof. Yushin has authored / co-authored 47 research publications, including those published in some of the most respected journals in his field, such as Science, Nature Materials, Advanced Materials, Advanced Functional Materials, Advanced Energy Materials,  JACS, Small, ACS Nano, PRL and other leading journals. His recent awards include 2010 NSF CAREER Award, 2009 AFOSR Young Investigator Award, 2008 Petroleum Research Fund New Investigator Award, 2008 Honda Initiation Award, and 2007 Roland B. Snow Award from American Ceramic Society. Current interests of Prof. Yushin are focused on nanostructured and nanocomposite materials for energy storage and multifunctional applications.

[loc]PISB 108[/loc]