Program:
15.00-15.15: coffee & cake in the foyer
15.15-16.15: scientific talk in Auditorium I

Speaker: Torben R. Jensen, Department of Chemistry, Aarhus University: https://www.au.dk/en/trj@chem.au.dk

Abstract:
Solid state batteries created using abundant and cheap elements may pave the way towards a more sustainable future. In particular, new approaches for direct storage of large amounts of renewable electricity both for mobile and stationary applications needs to be developed. There are many well-known types of compounds with fast mono-valent cationic mobility, such as Li⁺ and Na⁺, but very few for divalent metals.
In general, mobility of divalent cations in the solid state at ambient conditions is usually very limited, especially for Ca²⁺ as compared to Mg²⁺, due to larger ionic radius (+39 %), cross sectional area (+93 %) and volume (+168 %). However, recent research has discovered new phenomena that can enhance ionic conductivity and act as fundament for materials rational design and synthesis. Synthesis and characterisation of novel battery materials is the fundament for our research, and we have discovered a range of new solid state electrolytes with fast Li⁺, Na⁺, Mg²⁺ and Ca²⁺ ionic conductivity. This presentation demonstrates that there is still room for discovering new inorganic compounds and our work is based on novel complex hydrides with extreme flexibility in structure and composition and with new fascinating properties, including solid state batteries.