Dr. Brett Savoie, the Charles Davidson Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering at Purdue University, is Principal Investigator of a research group that will receive funding from the National Science Foundation to study prediction of electrolyte decomposition in batteries.

The study, Chemical Network Based Understanding and Prediction of Electrolyte Decomposition in Batteries, will receive more than $400,000 over the next two years. The award is part of the NSF Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER).

Electrolyte degradation plays a fundamental role in battery operation. Every battery has an electrolyte, and in every battery, that electrolyte degrades over time due to the stresses of operation. Understanding what chemical species that electrolytes degrade into and on what timescale is one of the big knowledge gaps in designing new electrolytes for batteries.

“Our goal with this project is to develop and apply computational approaches to characterize the reaction networks associated with electrolyte degradation,” said Dr. Savoie. “This approach will yield basic knowledge about expected degradation channels and products that can be utilized to make design decisions and guide experimental design. Our long-term vision is to use these methods to generate data on broad classes of prospective electrolytes and eventually chart a map of electrolyte reactivity that will serve as the molecular level description for rationally improving batteries from the atoms up.”

The NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a Foundation-wide activity that offers the National Science Foundation's most prestigious awards in support of early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization. Activities pursued by early-career faculty should build a firm foundation for a lifetime of leadership in integrating education and research. Learn more about the NSF CAREER program.

Dr. Brett Savoie joined Purdue Chemical Engineering in 2017. His research group focuses on accelerating the design and characterization of energy-related materials using theoretical methods. Burgeoning computational power and algorithm development have made theoretical characterization and screening essential steps in modern materials development. From first-principles predictions of electronic structure, catalytic activity, and even crystal structure—methods development continues to push the frontier of what material properties can be predicted in advance, thus economizing costly synthesis and optimization efforts.

Learn more about Dr. Brett Savoie, the Charles Davidson Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering at Purdue University: http://bit.ly/ChE-Dr-Savoie

Source: Dr. Brett Savoie, bsavoie@purdue.edu, (765) 494-4235