Sang Cheol Kim
Future research: Electrochemical technologies will play a pivotal role in the clean energy transition. As we shift towards greater renewable electricity generation, electrochemical technologies can leverage clean electricity to do useful chemistry. Batteries for electric vehicles is an example. Every electrochemical system requires an electrolyte, which is typically composed of ions dissolved in liquid solvents. Electrolytes govern many of the key electrochemical processes, including ion transport, charge-transfer kinetics, and the side reactions that dictate the electrochemical stability. These processes will critically impact the device and system performance. Despite the importance of electrolytes, our molecular-level understanding of it remains limited. My research aims to understand and design electrolytes and electrochemical systems for energy and sustainability. We develop and use advanced characterization tools to understand electrolytes at the molecular level. We use these fundamental insights to design new electrolytes for various applications. We also use machine learning approaches to understand and design electrolytes and electrochemical systems. Application areas include energy storage, CO2 capture and sustainable manufacturing.
Fellows Bio: Sang Cheol Kim went to Duke University for his undergraduate studies, with degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science (MEMS) and Chemistry. In college, Sang Cheol developed a deep interest in the energy transformation, which led him to join LG Chem, a large chemical and battery manufacturing company based in South Korea. After three years’ tenure at LG, as a battery cell engineer for automotive applications, he moved to Stanford, where he received master’s and PhD degrees in Materials Science and Engineering. He worked with Prof. Yi Cui to develop tools to probe the liquid electrolyte in batteries, and developed a new class of electrolytes called the high entropy electrolyte. Sang Cheol has also been active in the Stanford energy community as a student leader of the StorageX Initiative.
Postdoctoral research project: Ion-irradiated hBN nanomembranes for high-performance lithium metal batteries. Metallic lithium is the ultimate anode material for lithium-based batteries, as it provides the highest energy density. However, taming the reactivity of lithium metal to suppress lithium dendrites has been a long-standing challenge. In recent studies conducted in Prof. Steven Chu’s group at Stanford, it was found that ion-irradiated hexagonal boron nitrides (hBNs), a 2-dimensional material, on the anode can effectively suppress dendrite formation. Ion-irradiated hBN can selectively transport Li+ through defect sites, while inhibiting transmission of other components in the electrolyte thereby suppressing side reactions. Sang Cheol will leverage his expertise in electrolyte engineering and electrochemistry to build high-performance lithium metal batteries. By optimizing the interplay between the electrolyte and the hBN nanomembrane, he aims to design long-cycling and high-energy lithium metal batteries. In addition, the remarkable effect of defects in hBN brings forth fascinating scientific questions: 1) What is the nature of the radiation-induced defect and how does it lead to the physicochemical properties? 2) What hBN-electrolyte interfacial phenomenon allows for the selective insertion and transport of Li+? Sang Cheol will deploy advanced characterization tools available in Stanford and SLAC to find answers to these fundamental questions.
Research focus: Energy Conversion & Storage - Lithium metal batteries
Advisors: Steve Chu - Physics | Yan-Kai Tzeng - SLAC