Events

Abstract

How crystals grow at dynamic interfaces is a broad-based science question that underpins a variety of opportunities for enabling key technologies. Fundamental answers are crucial for meaningfully advancing the state-of-the-art in, for example, energy storage materials and lightweight mechanical parts. However, the dynamic—i.e., far from equilibrium & in the presence of anisotropic fields—nature of such growth poses critical challenges on its effective control, especially, at practical rates under ambient conditions. In this talk, as a point of departure from conventional approaches, I will discuss how mesoscale order of crystalline materials plays a critical—but underexplored—role in building high-performance batteries featuring low cost, intrinsic safety, and long cycle life. The focus on order at mesoscopic length scales is of interest because phenomena at these scales report explicit effects from intrinsic atomic bonding—i.e., the crystal structure—and markedly impact macroscopic properties—e.g., the electrochemical activity—of materials. Design and realization of mesoscale order via scalable methods offers a fresh path towards full utilization of the intrinsic anisotropy of crystalline materials for a diversity of applications.

About the Speaker

Kent Zheng is an Assistant Professor in McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering at UT Austin. He officially joined UT in Spring 2024. Kent was a postdoctoral research associate with Prof. Joe Checkelsky at MIT Physics Department during 2021~2023. He studied scalable synthesis of mesoscale ordered materials that host exotic electrochemical, mechanical, and electronic properties. He obtained his PhD in 2020 under the supervision of Prof. Lynden Archer at the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University. His PhD thesis study focused on the design of reversible metallic anodes in batteries, including Li, Zn, Al, etc., by controlling crystal growth at dynamic interfaces. Kent earned his bachelor’s degrees in materials science and in history, respectively, from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 2017. In 2014~2017, he worked in Frontier Research Center for Materials Structures (FRCMS) as an undergraduate research assistant. His research in FRCMS centered on atomic-scale characterization of phase transformations in light-weight alloys, e.g., Mg and Al, using advanced transmission electron microscopy. As of April 2024, he has co-authored more than 65 peer-reviewed research papers. He is recognized with the Early Career Award (2021) from the Electrodeposition Division of the Electrochemical Society.