Chicago Future Manufacturing Seminar Series | Part 4

Where

Virtual Event

When

02/24/22

Key Speakers

Prof. Paul Braun

About the Event

MxD, University of Chicago, and our partner institutions are proud to introduce the Chicago Future Manufacturing Seminar Series. This series will feature invited speakers to discuss cutting-edge research on future manufacturing (e.g., ecomanufacturing and cybermanufacturing) —working in tandem through the NSF-funded MADE-PUBLIC project to establish an intelligent, scalable, and democratized manufacturing paradigm that allows for distributed printing of low-cost, biodegradable, and recyclable electronic devices using locally identifiable resources, such as bio-based materials derived from plants. These electronic devices are critical components in the rapidly evolving Internet of Things (IoT). This series will not only further MxD’s mission of establishing Chicago as a future manufacturing hub, but it seeks to educate a diverse audience of students and the public on the future of sustainable manufacturing.

Holistic Design of Low-Cost and Recyclable High Energy Density Li-ion Batteries

Conventional Li-ion batteries are formed using slurry-cast electrodes, whose random nature and porosity, limits both energy density and rate performance. Slurry-cast electrodes additionally present end-of-life recycling challenges due to the presence of binder and carbon additives. Prof. Braun will present his work on the molten salt electrodeposition of thick and nearly dense Na and Li-based cathodes on metallic current collectors, including LiCoO2, NaCoO2, LiMn2O4, and Al-doped LiCoO2 cathode chemistries which overcome many of these challenges. In addition, the presentation will discuss novel electrochemical pathways to directly recycle these electrodes.

Agenda:

4:00pm - 4:10pm – MxD & MADE-PUBLIC Intro
4:10pm - 4:45pm – Electrochemical Manufacturing and Recycling of Li-ion Batteries
4:45pm - 5:00pm – Q&A with Prof. Braun

Featured Speakers:

Prof. Paul V. Braun
Title: Grainger Distinguished Chair in Engineering, the Director of the Materials Research Laboratory, and Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Bio: Prof. Paul V. Braun is the Grainger Distinguished Chair in Engineering, the Director of the Materials Research Laboratory, and Professor of Materials Science and Engineering. He also has co-appointments in Chemistry, Mechanical Sciences and Engineering, and the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology. Prof. Braun serves as the CTO of Xerion Advanced Battery Company and has co-founded two other companies, Autonomic Materials Inc. and TearDX.

Prof. Braun received his B.S. degree with distinction from Cornell University, and his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Illinois. Following a postdoctoral appointment at Bell Labs, Lucent Technologies, he joined the faculty of the University of Illinois in 1999. Prof. Braun has co-authored a book, and about 350 publications and 20 awarded patents. He is the recipient of the Illinois MatSE Young Alumnus Award (2011), the Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (2010), the 2002 Robert Lansing Hardy Award from TMS, a Beckman Young Investigator Award (2001), a 3M Nontenured Faculty Award (2001), and multiple teaching awards. Prof. Braun serves on the editorial advisory boards of multiple journals. He was a member of the 2010-2011 DARPA Defense Science Study Group, and the 2015-2017 National Academies Technical Advisory Board for the US Army Research Laboratory. In 2018 Prof. Braun was elected a Fellow of the Materials Research Society and in 2020 a Fellow of AAAS.

Key Speakers

image of Prof. Paul Braun
Prof. Paul Braun
Grainger Distinguished Chair in Engineering
the Director of the Materials Research Laboratory
Professor of Materials Science
and Engineering at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign