A review of fast ionic conductors by the University of Michigan – Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint Institute (JI) Assistant Professor Shouhang Bo and his collaborators was published recently by leading international chemistry journal Chemical Reviews (IF = 54.301 in 2018). Corresponding authors of the paper titled “Classical and Emerging Characterization Techniques for Investigation of Ion Transport Mechanisms in Crystalline Fast Ionic Conductors” include Shouhang Bo, JI Assistant Professor Qianli Chen and the University of Maryland Associate Professor Yifei Mo. Two JI graduate students, Yirong Gao and Peng Du, and Maryland graduate student Adelaide M. Nolan are lead authors of the paper. Authors of the paper also include Yifan Wu and Chao Yang, both JI graduate students.
The non-inflammable and non-corrosive fast ionic conductors, possessing high ionic conductivity comparable to that of materials at liquid state, are widely used in solid-state batteries, fuel cells and sensors. A comprehensive understanding of the ion transport mechanism in fast ionic conductors is of great significance to rationalize general design rules of improved fast ionic conductors. However, ion transport in solids is a complex physical phenomenon. On the one hand, ion transport involves different time and length scales; on the other hand, it is necessary to understand ion transport mechanisms and relate these with structures.
In this paper, the classical understandings of ion transport mechanisms were introduced first. Then, the authors critically evaluated the experimental and computational characterization techniques to probe ion transport processes in crystalline fast ionic conductors. Through this analysis, the authors suggested the importance to combine experimental and computational approaches to study ion transport in fast ionic conductors and to accurately measure the physical parameters associated with ion transport. This review aims to motivate a rethink of the solid-state ionics field, leading to innovative paths toward a comprehensive understanding of ion transport in crystalline fast ionic conductors.
The research project was supported by Shanghai Sailing Program (Contract No. 18YF1411100) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51802193).
Background Information
Shouhang Bo is a tenure-track Assistant Professor of the UM-SJTU Joint Institute. He received his B.S. degree in Chemistry from Fudan University in 2009 and Ph.D. degree in Chemistry from Stony Brook University in 2014. Before he joined JI in July 2017, Professor Bo was a postdoctoral fellow at Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. His recent research interests include solid-state electrolytes, interface and imaging of solid-state batteries.
