vdbatteries
Skills
Solid state synthesis
Design and synthesis of solid state and molten salt-based materials for energy storage applications
Atom-Transfer Radical Polymerization (ATRP)
Prepared block polymers for use as micelle templates
Coin Cell Preparation and Testing
Preparation and testing of NCMs in half cells (vs Li and Na) to analyze capacity, rate capability, and cycle stability
Sol-gel chemistry
Designed novel sol-gel "recipes" for thin-films and powders using nitrate and alkoxide precursors
Persistent Micelle Templating (PMTs)
A technique unique to the Stefik Lab (U of SC) which can be applied to produce controlled nanoscale architecutres
Solid-state cell testing
Preparation and testing of cathodes in In/InLi cells for solid-state battery performance
Thin-film spin coating
Jokingly called the "thin film king", I made countless polymer templated thin film nanostructures with controlled humidity and a custom built spin coater
Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS)
in-situ measurements of charge-discharge experiments, routine transmission, and grazing-incidence measurements for nanostructure and crystallinity
Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS)
¨ Tracking of micelle formation and sol-gel particle growth over time for troubleshooting of templating experiments
Electrochemical Testing (EIS, CV, C-rate, etc.)
in-situ and kinetic data analysis of CV and EIS experiments for thin films and model sandwich cells for Li-ion and H+/Zn2+
Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS)
¨ Top-down and cross-sectional SEM for quantitative image analysis of metal oxide nanostructured films, noble metal mesoporous nanoparticles, and NCM single-crystal materials
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR)
Routine measurements and analysis of polymerization reactions, polymers, and small molecules
Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC)
Routine measurements of polymers for determination of dispersity
X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Rietveld Refinement (GSAS II)
In-house (Mo) XRD analysis of NCM structures to determine degree of point defects and phases in NCM materials
R Programming
Author of +10 unique scripts involving automation of data extraction and analysis for plotting using the tidyverse package
IR and Raman Spectroscopy
Experience with routine measurements for both techniques of various materials
Design of Experiment (DOE)
Designed small factorial runs to identify critical variables of nanomaterial templating and synthetic menthol crystallization. Specialization certification from ASU
MATLAB Programming
Author of +40 unique scripts involving automation of data extraction and analysis for electrochemical kinetics, fitting of spectra, and creation of publication figures
Python Programming
Author of a suite of scripts for automated data extraction and analysis from MACCOR systems as well as other instrumentation. The most complex of these analyses was fitting current interrupt electrochemical data for interactive 3D surface plots
Lab and Safety management
Ensuring that two labs met either US or German lab safety standards. As well as coordinating use and scheduling of instrumentation to guarantee that everyone has access to progress their work
Leadership
Mentored students from high-school to graduate level to work in the lab with self-sufficiency and confidence
Scientific Presentation and Writing
Acolyte of Michael Alley's style of writing and presenting scientific works with award winning results. Excellent public speaking skills and conveying complex ideas to all levels of expertise