Sun Hwa Lee Postdoctoral Associate MS/PhD in Material Science and Engineering, KAIST (Dae-Jeon, Korea) BS in Material Science and Engineering, Hanyang University (Seoul, Korea)

Design and development of layer-by-layer membranes for energy storage devices

There is a strong need for new solid state electrolyte materials that can serve as functional membranes in electrochemical energy systems, from batteries to photovoltaics and fuel cells. The electrostatic layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly to generate ultrathin films through the alternation of polycationic and anionic polymer systems enables the nanoscale manipulation of thin film composition, and the generation of molecular level blends that would be difficult to achieve using traditional means of creating materials composites. These nanolayer thin film systems will act as lithium ion conducting thin films that act as a barrier to the diffusion of low molar mass electrolytes and contaminants for Li‐air batteries. The film will be designed to exhibit high lithium ion conductivity and transference number as well as low permeability of small polar electrolyte molecules.