NMR battery spectroscopy applies a magnetic field, and radio frequency pulses to an atomic nucleus according to Science Direct. The observer is then able to characterize the resonant frequency of that atomic nucleus, according to its chemical or environmental surroundings. We explore the practical applications of this deep-reaching technique.
Pioneering Studies Deploying NMR Battery Spectroscopy
ACS Central Science is a media outlet of American Chemical Society (ACS). Their journalist Neil Savage spoke to Clare Grey after she received the ACS Disruptors and Innovators Prize. This award recognizes a scientist who made a “paradigm-shifting breakthrough of broad relevance”.
The ACS singled Grey out “in recognition of her extensive and disruptive research, in applying solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to materials relevant to energy and the environment. Her work identified mechanisms degrading batteries, paving the way for less expensive, longer-lasting energy storage systems.
Grey is passionately interested in the role batteries play in combating climate change. However, she understands we need cheaper, safer ones for grid applications that also last a long time. Therefore, she dedicates her time to answering fundamental physics and chemistry questions.
The Main Focus of Clare Grey’s Pioneering Research
However, Grey is particularly curious to learn more about how environments around atoms impact the way batteries behave. She has dedicated most of her career to working on lithium-ion batteries, particularly using NMR battery spectroscopy.
She still wants to know more about the interaction between lithium battery structures in terms of cathode oxidation during cycling. However, she confesses she is also moving on to next gen battery technologies too.
But her curious mind is still wavering between sodium-ion, magnesium, and lithium-air batteries. The biggest question, she says is how can we make a much cheaper lithium battery. One way would be to remove most of the expensive cobalt, but that still eludes us.
“How do we devise batteries that may not look like batteries, but make an impact on grid storage,” she asks. “If we’re going to move to an economy that will be largely wind and solar, how do we deal with the intermittency?”
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