University of Michigan

Neil P Dasgupta

Jeffrey S Sakamoto

Eric Kazyak

Kuan-Hung Chen

Kira Barton

Min Ji Namkoong

Lauren Ransohoff

Mattison Rose

Ellis Herman

Orlando Trejo

Travis Thompson

Anish Tuteja

Nathan Taylor

Hyunwoo Park

Tae Han Cho

Asma Sharafi

Carli Huber

Jing Wang

Andre Brooks

Christopher P Pannier

Tae H Cho

Kevin N Wood

A spatial atomic layer deposition apparatus that includes a depositor head having an active surface configured to discharge a flow of a first precursor gas, a flow of a second precursor gas, and a flow of an inert gas that separates the flow of the first precursor gas and the flow of the second precursor gas, a substrate plate that opposes the depositor head and has a support surface for retaining a build substrate, a plurality of gap detection sensors producing an output signal indicative of a distance between the active surface of the depositor head and the support surface of the substrate plate, and a controller that communicates with the plurality of gap detection sensors. The gap detection sensors permit a spatial orientation of the active surface of the depositor head and the support surface of the substrate plate to be determined in real-time and monitored.

Mechatronic spatial atomic layer deposition system with closed-loop feedback control of parallelism and component alignment

A method is disclosed for suppressing propagation of a metal in a solid state electrolyte during cycling of an electrochemical device including the solid state electrolyte and an electrode comprising the metal. One method comprises forming the solid state electrolyte such that the solid state electrolyte has a structure comprising a plurality of grains of a metal-ion conductive material and a grain boundary phase located at some or all of grain boundaries between the grains, wherein the grain boundary phase suppresses propagation of the metal in the solid state electrolyte during cycling. Another method comprises forming the solid state electrolyte such that the solid state electrolyte is a single crystal.

Method for suppressing metal propagation in solid electrolytes

A lithium-ion battery includes an electrode with a plurality of channels formed at least partially through its thickness. Each channel has a diameter in a range from 5 μm to 100 μm and/or is spaced apart from another channel by a distance in a range from 10 μm to 200 μm as measured between centerlines of the channels. The electrode may be an anode and includes carbonaceous material such as graphite and/or additional electrochemically active lithium host materials. The battery can be charged at a C-rate greater than 2 C.

3-D composite anodes for Li-ion batteries with high capacity and fast charging capability

An anode for a lithium ion battery is disclosed includes a first major face, a second major face that, together with the first major face, defines a thickness of the anode, and at least one carbonaceous electrochemically active lithium host material distributed between the first and second major faces of the anode. The at least one carbonaceous electrochemically active lithium host material is selected from the group consisting of graphite, hard carbon, or a blend of graphite and hard carbon. The anode additionally defines a plurality of vertical channels extending at least partially through the thickness of the anode. A lithium-ion batter that includes the disclosed anode and a method of charging a lithium-ion battery that includes the disclosed anode are also disclosed.

A rational design and fabrication of ZnO/AlOcore-shell nanowire architectures with tunable geometries (length, spacing, branching) and surface chemistry is provided. The fabricated nanowires significantly delay or even prevent marine biofouling. In some embodiments, hydrophilic nanowires can reduce the fouling coverage by up to approximately 60% after 20 days compared to planar control surfaces. The mechanism of the fouling reduction is mainly due to two geometric effects: reduced effective settlement area and mechanical cell penetration. Further, superhydrophobic nanowires can completely prevent marine algal fouling for up to 22 days. Additionally, the developed nanowire surfaces are transparent across the visible spectrum, making them applicable to windows and oceanographic sensors.

Transparent nanowire architectures for marine anti-fouling

An integrated electrohydrodynamic jet printing and spatial atomic layer deposition system for conducting nanofabrication includes an electrohydrodynamic jet printing station that includes an E-jet printing nozzle, a spatial atomic layer deposition station that includes a zoned ALD precursor gas distributor that discharges linear zone-separated first and second ALD precursor gases, a heatable substrate plate supported on a motion actuator controllable to move the substrate plate in three dimensions, and a conveyor on which the motion actuator is supported. The conveyor is operative to move the motion actuator between the electrohydrodynamic jet printing station and the spatial atomic layer deposition station so that the substrate plate is conveyable between a printing window of the E-jet printing nozzle and a deposition window of the zoned ALD precursor gas distributor, respectively. A method of conducting area-selective atomic layer deposition is also disclosed.

Integrated electrohydrodynamic jet printing and spatial atomic layer deposition system for area selective-atomic layer deposition

Disclosed are methods for pre-conditioning or pre-treating the surface of a metal (e.g., lithium) electrode such that the cycle life and efficiency of the electrode within an electrochemical cell are improved through the prevention of dendrite growth. The pretreatment process includes the use of an alternating current to modify the surface properties of the metal electrode, such that a more uniform flux of metal ions is transferred across the electrode-electrolyte Interface in subsequent electrodeposition and electrodissolution processes. As a result, an electrode treated with such a process exhibits improved performance and durability, including markedly lower overpotentials and largely improved metal (e.g., lithium) retention in strip plate tests as compared with untreated electrodes.

Method of improved performance in metal electrodes for batteries

Growing community of inventors

Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America

Neil P Dasgupta