ChE Seminar with Jodie L. Lutkenhaus, Ph.D.

Details

Title:
Organic Batteries for a More Sustainable Future

Presented by:
Jodie L. Lutkenhaus, Ph.D.
Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering
Texas A&M University

Abstract:
Cobalt, nickel, and lithium are essential ingredients in today’s lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), but their continued use presents economic, ethical, and environmental challenges. Society must now begin to consider the implications of a LIB’s full life cycle, including the carbon footprint, the economic and environmental costs, and material access. These challenges motivate the case for degradable or recyclable batteries sourced from earth-abundant materials whose life cycle bears minimal impact on the environment.

This presentation considers organic polymer-based batteries, which have the potential to address many of these issues. Redox-active polymers form the positive and negative electrodes, storing charge through a reversible redox mechanism. We demonstrate how these polymer electrodes can be degraded on command or else recycled, offering the promise of a circular platform free of critical elements.

Biosketch:
Dr. Lutkenhaus is a Professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering and an Associate Dean for Research at Texas A&M University. She is the Deputy Editor of ACS Applied Polymer Materials, a member of the U.S. National Academies Board of Chemical Sciences & Technology, and a member of the U.S. National Committee for IUPAC.