Electrodeposition is a more than two-centuries old process for creating coatings of metals and particles on electrically conducting substrates. The presentation addresses a long-standing technical problem associated with the propensity of all metals to form non-uniform, rough/dendritic electrodeposits with crystal structures that can be completely different from those observed in the bulk. The search for solutions has re-emerged in recent years as a priority research direction because it is understood that poor control of metal crystallization and plating at rechargeable battery anodes is an impediment to practical low-cost batteries.
The presentation will summarize results from studies over the last decade, which have shown that recharge of any metal anode requires reversible nucleation and growth of crystalline structures with symmetries that are rarely, if ever, consistent with those dictated by the fields inside a closed battery cell. This means that the interfacial products from spontaneous electrode growth reactions in a battery cell are in most cases fundamentally incompatible with requirements for achieving the very high levels of reversibility required for achieving cost-effective and long-duration storage. By first considering the fundamental stability limits for metal electrodeposition processes in liquid and semisolid structured electrolytes from multiple perspectives, testable design concepts are revealed and evaluated in simple and complex electrochemical cell designs.
Lynden Archer is the Joseph Silbert Dean of the College of Engineering and the James A Friend Family Distinguished Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Cornell University. His research focuses on transport properties of polymers and polymer-nanoparticle hybrid materials, and their applications for electrochemical energy storage in batteries.
Archer received his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Stanford University in 1993 and was a Postdoctoral Member of the Technical Staff at AT&T Bell Laboratories in 1994. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and fellow of the American Physical Society (APS) and Society of Rheology (SOR). His research contributions have been recognized with various awards, including the AICHE Nanoscale Science and Engineering Forum award, the National Science Foundation award for Special Creativity, a NSF Distinguished Lectureship in Mathematical & Physical Sciences, the American Institute of Chemical Engineer’s MAC Centeniell Engineer award, and the Thompson-Reuters World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds in Materials Science.
At Cornell, he has been recognized with the James & Mary Tien Excellence in Teaching Award and thrice with the Merrill Presidential award as the most influential member of the Cornell faculty selected by a Merrill Presidential Scholar awardee. He previously served as Director of the Smith School of Chemical and Bimolecular Engineering at Cornell University from 2010 to 2016 and Deputy Editor of Science Advances from 2017-2021.