High-Throughput Screening of Electrolytes for the Next Generation of Rechargeable Batteries

Project Personnel

Tao Li

Principal Investigator

Yang Zhang

Co-PI

Anh Ngo

Co-PI

Funding Divisions

Division of Materials Research (DMR), Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems (CBET)

Rechargeable batteries have become one of the most popular energy storage devices for electric vehicles, electronics, and grid energy storage. Developing novel electrolytes for the next generation of rechargeable batteries require more understanding of transport properties, microstructures, and the impact of microstructure on transport property. In this project, the investigators will systematically vary the composition and concentration of the electrolytes to determine the optimum solution for advanced rechargeable batteries. The success of the proposed research will provide high throughput experimentation/characterization and machine learning platforms. Moreover, the integrated research and educational programs will broadly impact the university, secondary education, and the general public. The research results will be into the investigators' courses and be used to train undergraduate and graduate students in the interdisciplinary research areas. New educational outreach initiatives include having an Electrolyte for Energy Storage workshop for local high school students and teachers each fall to enhance the broader impact of this NSF project.

Publications

Unique Conductivity Behavior in Water-In-Salt Electrolytes Driven by Ion Clusters
H. T. D. Nguyen, S. Lee, X. Lyu, L. Fang, L. Trojanowski, R. Gonzalez, M. Harr, L. Rai, Y. Z, and T. Li
7/18/2025
Novel Zwitterionic Polyurethane‐in‐Salt Electrolytes with High Ion Conductivity, Elasticity, and Adhesion for High‐Performance Solid‐State Lithium Metal Batteries
K. Wang, V. Koverga, N. Maslekar, F. Wu, R. Kuphl, X. Lyu, P. Deshpande, H. Guo, H. Seol, W. Degraff, J. L. Schaefer, C. Fang, T. Li, G. Cheng, A. T. Ngo, and S. Kim
5/12/2025
The contrasting impacts of polyethylene glycol on electrochemical behaviors of Fe and Zn metal anodes in aqueous batteries
S. Yang, C. Chen, X. Lyu, S. Seifert, H. Maclennan, M. S. Jung, E. N. Musa, Y. Sui, A. M. Scida, R. Baddireddi, M. A. McNerney, K. C. Stylianou, T. Li, C. Fang, and X. Ji
1/1/2025
Stabilizing Graphite Anode in Electrolytes with Nanoscale Anion Networking for High-Rate Lithium Storage
Y. Yu, J. Xu, K. Duanmu, V. Shutthanandan, S. Wi, Z. Yang, Y. Liu, X. Lyu, K. Qian, M. Agarwal, Z. Zhang, Y. Zhang, T. Li, C. Liu, V. Murugesan, and J. Xie
9/20/2024
Solvation Structure of Methanol-in-Salt Electrolyte Revealed by Small-Angle X-ray Scattering and Simulations
X. Lyu, H. Wang, X. Liu, L. He, C. Do, S. Seifert, R. E. Winans, L. Cheng, and T. Li
2/19/2024
Unveiling the Liquid Electrolyte Solvation Structure by Small Angle X-ray Scattering
X. Liu, L. Fang, X. Lyu, R. E. Winans, and T. Li
12/1/2023

View All Publications

Research Highlights

Unique Conductivity Behavior in Water-in-Salt Electrolytes Driven by Ion Clusters
Y Z (University of Michigan) and Tao Li (Northern Illinois University)
8/12/2025

Designing Materials to Revolutionize and Engineer our Future (DMREF)