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IMSE Seminar with Miaofang Chi on Emerging Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy

Miaofang Chi from Oak Ridge National Laboratory will be presenting the seminar "Emerging Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM) for Energy Materials Research"

An ever-increasing societal demand calls for sustainable solutions to converting and storing energy. However, designing next-generation energy conversion and storage systems, such as solid-state batteries and fuel cells, faces numerous challenges, many of which are related to interfaces. Elucidating interfacial phenomena in these energy systems requires knowledge, not only of atomic-scale structure and chemistry but also of correlated local charge distribution and ion transport that are difficult to probe with existing characterization techniques. Several emerging scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) techniques, such as four-dimensional (4D)-STEM, monochromated EELS (electron energy loss spectroscopy), atomic-scale cryogenic and in situ environmental microscopy, allow the behavior of electrons, ions, and atoms to be probed, opening opportunities to tackle complex dynamic interfacial questions. In this talk, I will demonstrate how we advance and utilize these techniques to (1) reveal the origin of unexpected dendrite growth within all-solid-state batteries, (2) probe local ion transport behavior at interfaces and grain boundaries, and (3) map charge density in electrides and interfaces in heterogeneous catalysts. Perspectives for the future advancements of these new STEM techniques for research into emerging energy and quantum materials will also be provided.

Miaofang Chi is a distinguished scientist at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). She received her Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of California, Davis, in 2008. Her primary research interests are understanding interfacial charge transfer and ion transport behavior in energy and quantum materials and systems by advancing and employing novel electron microscopy techniques. She was awarded the Burton Medal by the Microscopy Society of America (2016) and the Kurt Heinrich Award from the Microanalysis Society (2019). She received the ORNL Director’s Award for Outstanding Individual Accomplishment in Science and Technology (2015 and 2021) and was named to Clarivate’s list of Highly Cited Researchers in 2018, 2020 and 2021. She serves on the editorial board of Materials Today and served as the award committee chair for Microscopy Society of America (MSA).

All WashU faculty, staff and students are invited.