Date/Time
Date(s) - 02/08/2021
9:35 am - 10:30 am
Categories
Zhenxing Feng, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Chemical Engineering
Oregon State University
Title: Interfacial Reactions in Electrochemical Energy Systems: In-Situ Studies Using Synchrotron X-ray Techniques
Abstract: For electrochemical systems such as batteries and fuel cells, the gas/solid and liquid/solid interfaces are critical parts where many important reactions take place. It is critical to understand the interfacial changes for the better design of efficient energy systems. In the past years we have used various in-situ and operando synchrotron-based X-ray techniques including scattering, spectroscopy and imaging to investigate the atomic and electronic structure, chemistry and compositions of various electrochemical interfaces in fuel cells, electrolyzers, lithium-, sodium- and magnesium-batteries. In my talk, I will mainly illustrate two representative examples. One is our efforts on using in-situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) to study catalyst restructuring in many electrochemical reactions such as oxygen evolution reaction for water splitting and electrochemical CO2 reduction. The second example will be focused on our recent works for aqueous sodium-ion batteries to achieve fast charging, better energy density and higher operation voltage. If time allows. I will also show other advanced X-ray techniques we are developing to in-situ study interfacial processes beyond electrochemistry.
Bio: Zhenxing Feng graduated from Peking University in China with BS in Physics. He obtained MS in Physics from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, and Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering of Northwestern University, USA in 2011. Then he spent two years at Mechanical Engineering of MIT for postdoctoral trainings. After working in Joint Center for Energy Storage Research (JCESR) of Argonne National Lab for 3 years in advanced battery research, he moved to Oregon State University as an assistant professor in 2016. He is interested in finding design principles of various materials for energy harvesting, conversion and storage applications.
