Research

Below is a summary of current research topics in Chemical Engineering. See also my Prior Research in Applied Mathematics.

I. Electrochemical Energy Systems

• Li-ion batteries

  Non-equilibrium thermodynamics of lithium intercalation in composite porous electrodes, phase separation dynamics in LiFePO4 nanoparticles, mosaic instability and macroscopic phase transformations in porous electrodes, elastic coherency strain effects on Faradaic reactions, impedance spectroscopy, double layer effects, capacity fade, accelerated aging, and lifetime statistics. See also the Battery Modeling Group at MIT (an NSF-sponsored Focused Research Group).

• Electrochemical capacitors

  Nonlinear dynamics of capacitive charging and Faradaic reactions in porous electrodes, impedance, cyclic voltammetry, double-layer structure and reactions in room temperature ionic liquids and molten salts, application to energy storage in electric double layer supercapacitors and hybrid "pseudocapacitors" (which also include Faradaic reactions).

• Fuel cells

  Double layer effects, impedance, transients, transport phenomena in fuel cells. In the lab, we are building novel microfluidic fuel cells to enable high power-density elelectrochemical reactions. We are also working onthe fundamental theory of solid oxide fuel cells, supported by Saint Gobain Ceramics and Plastics.

II. Electrochemical Microfluidics

• Desalination shocks

  Over-limiting current to membranes and electrodes, "desalination shocks" (sharp, propagating salt concentration gradients) in microstructures, concentration polarization and electro-osmotic convection in micro/nanochannels and in micro/nanoporous media, homogenization (volume averaging) for ion transport in microstructures, applications to water purification and desalination by "shock electrodialysis". This work involves both theory and experiments and is supported by Weatherford International, through the MIT Energy Initiative.

• Capacitive desalination

  Nonlinear dynamics of capacitive desalination and selective ion adsorption by porous electrodes, transport phenomena, effects of Faradaic reactions.

• Induced-charge electro-osmosis

  Fundamental theory of "ICEO" at large voltages, microfluidic applications, AC electro-osmotic micropumps and mixers, induced-charge electrophoresis and electrodiffusiophoresis of polarizable particles, ICEO flows around biological membranes. See also Nonlinear Electrokinetics @ MIT

• Flow batteries

  We are developing "membraneless" microfluidic flow batteries exploiting halogen electrochemistry to achieve high power density (W/cm2) and reduce costs. (Collaboration with Cullen Buie.)

III. Miscellaneous

• Sorption/desorption hysteresis in nanoporous media (e.g. hydration of cement paste) . This work is supported by the MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub

• Tensorial slip, transverse flow, and electrokinetics of textured, superhydrophobic surfaces.
• Breakdown phenomena, statistics of structural failure and dielectric breakdown
• Electrochemical dynamics of pulse propation in nerve cells
• Dynamics of receding glaciers
• Applications of conformal mapping
• Random walks, Central Limit Theorem

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