Professor Pol's extensive research background includes colloid and interfacial science, electrochemical-, materials-, chemical-, sustainable-, and environmental engineering. His current passion lies in electrochemical energy storage technologies, primarily the scalable design and optimization of electrode materials, separator designs and electrolyte discovery for lithium-ion, potassium-ion, sodium-ion, lithium-sulfur, and solid-state batteries with thermal safety aspects.

The Vilas Pol Energy Research (ViPER) group advances energy storage technologies by bridging critical knowledge gaps. Using sonochemistry, solvent-free autogenic reactions, hydrothermal synthesis, and microwave irradiation, we develop and test innovative multifunctional electrode materials for next-generation, safer batteries. We conduct comprehensive structural, morphological, and compositional characterization to uncover formation mechanisms and fundamental chemistry, collaborating globally with academia, national labs, industry, and universities.

Our current research activities include:

(1) Understanding the origin of thermal runaway mechanism in Lithium-ion, Sodium-ion, Potassium-ion, multivalent zinc, and all solid-state batteries and developing scientific strategies to mitigate them.

(2) Synthesis and mechanistic understanding of novel carbon and MXene architectures, along with discovery and design of high-capacity anode, cathode, and electrolyte materials for sustainable, long-lasting, and safer batteries, including innovative cell geometries with enhanced mechanical, flexible, and lightweight properties.

(3) Advancing physio-electrochemical transport understanding in multi-scale porous electrodes and long-term degradation mechanisms, while reducing interfacial impedance in all-solid-state batteries through hybrid polymer/garnet electrolyte and interface engineering for improved room-temperature performance.

(4) Applications of novel multi-functional hybrid materials developed at ViPER in the fields of super-capacitors, CO2 capture, bio-sensing, solar cells, lubrication additives, fuel cell catalysts, superconductors, optical, magnetic, and flexible polymer-based devices.

Google Scholar Profile

“Tailored Li-ion Battery Electrodes and Electrolytes for Extreme Condition Operations”, D. Jeong, B. M. Tackett, V. G. Pol Communications Chemistry, 8, 170 (2025).

“Lithium-ion Battery Critical Materials Sustainability”, V. G. Pol, ACS Energy Letters, 10, 2553−2558 (2025).

“Innovative Amorphous Multiple Anionic Transition Metal Compound Electrode for Extreme Environments (≤ −80 °C) Battery Operations”, J-H. Kim, S. Kim, Y. C. Kang, V. G. Pol, Nano Energy, 28, 109823 (2024).

“Enabling Extreme Low-Temperature (≤ −100 °C) Battery Cycling with Niobium Tungsten Oxides Electrode and Tailored Electrolytes”, S. Kim, Y. Zhang, H. Wang, T. E. Adams, V. G. Pol, Small, 2306438 (2024).

“Non-polar Ether-based Electrolyte Solutions for Stable High-Voltage Non-aqueous Lithium Metal Batteries”, Z. Li, H. Rao, R. Atwi, B. M. Sivakumar, B. Gwalani, S. Gray, K. S. Han, T. A. Ajantiwalay, V. Murugesan, N. N. Rajput, V. G. Pol, Nature Communications, 14, 868 (2023).

“Critical-Point-Dried, Porous, and Safer Aramid Nanofiber Separator for High-Performance Durable Lithium-Ion Batteries” M. H. Parekh, S. Oka, J. Lutkenhaus, V. G. Pol, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 14 (25), 29176-29187 (2022).

“Impedimetric Chemosensing of Volatile Organic Compounds Released from Li-ion Batteries”, P. Kaur, S. Bagchi, D. Gribble, V. G. Pol, A. P. Bhondekar, ACS Sensors, 7, 674-683 (2022).

“In Situ Replenishment of Formation Cycle Lithium-Ion Loss for Enhancing Battery Life”, M. Palanisamy, M. H. Parekh, V. G. Pol, Adv. Funct. Mater. 2003668 (2020).

“Room-Temperature, High-Voltage Solid-State Lithium Battery with Composite Solid Polymer Electrolyte with In-situ Thermal Safety Study", S. Zhang, Z. Li, Y. Guo, L. Cai, P. Manikandan, K. Zhao, Y. Li, V. G. Pol, Chemical Engineering Journal, 125996 (2020).

"In Situ Mechanistic Elucidation of Superior Si-C-Graphite Li-ion Battery Anode Formation with Thermal Safety Aspects", M. H. Parekh, A. D. Sediako, A. Naseri, M. J. Thomson, V. G. Pol, Advanced Energy Materials, 1902799 (2019).

"Materials by Design: Tailored Morphology and Structures of Carbon Anodes for Enhanced Battery Safety", R. A. Adams, A. Mistry, P. Mukherjee, V. G. Pol, ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 11, 14, 13334-13342 (2019).

"Strongly Correlated Perovskite Lithium-ion Shuttles", Y. Sun, M. Kotiuga, D. Lim, N. Badri, H. Zhou, C. Mathew, Z. Zhang, Y. Dong, R. Kou, C.J. Sun, Q. Lu , I. Waluyo, A.Hunt, H. Tanaka, A.N. Hattori, S. Gamage, Y. Abate, V. G. Pol, H. Zhou, S. Subramanian, B. Yildiz, K.M. Rabe, S. Ramanathan, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115(39), 9672-9677 (2018).

"High Performance Lithium Metal Batteries Enabled by Surface Tailoring of Polypropylene Separator with a Polydopamine/Graphene Layer", P.J. Kim, V.G. Pol, Advanced Energy Materials, 1802665 (2018).

"Spherical Carbon Particles and Carbon Nanotubes Prepared by Autogenic Reactions: Evaluation as Anodes in Lithium Electrochemical Cells," V. G. Pol, M. M. Thackeray, Energy and Environmental Science, 4, 1904-1912 (2011).