Materials Chemistry and Catalysis

Insights into battery materials using advanced electron microscopy

It is urgent that we transition away from the traditional fossil – fuel based resources to renewable ones. This calls for both high-performance renewable energy systems and reliable energy storage systems, making batteries a very important part of this transition¹. The main focus of this project is the synthesis of high-performance battery materials and their characterization using advanced electron microscopy (EM) not only in steady state but eventually under real operating conditions.

I will be using in-situ electrochemical TEM for the real time observation of phenomena at the nanometer level², such as the spontaneous formation of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) and the storing mechanism (such as intercalation, alloying) of ions into the electrode material (anode)³. Moreover, we will utilize the potential of cryogenic EM⁴ to get access and capture in action the intact structure and chemistry of the SEI and the anode material.

References

[1] Rey, S. O.; Romero, J. A.; Romero, L. T.; Martínez, À. F.; Roger, X. S.; Qamar, M. A.; Domínguez-García, J. L.; Gevorkov, L. Powering the Future: A Comprehensive Review of Battery Energy Storage Systems. Energies 2023, 16 (17), 6344. https://doi.org/10.3390/en16176344.

[2] Fan, Z.; Zhang, L.; Baumann, D.; Mei, L.; Yao, Y.; Duan, X.; Shi, Y.; Huang, J.; Huang, Y.; Duan, X. In Situ Transmission Electron Microscopy for Energy Materials and Devices. Adv. Mater. 2019. https://doi.org/10.1002/ADMA.201900608.

[3] Abdellah, A. M.; Salem, K. E.; DiCecco, L.-A.; Ismail, F.; Rakhsha, A.; Grandfield, K.; Higgins, D. In Situ Transmission Electron Microscopy of Electrocatalyst Materials: Proposed Workflows, Technical Advances, Challenges, and Lessons Learned. Small Methods 2025, 9 (1), 2400851. https://doi.org/10.1002/smtd.202400851.

[4] He, K. Cryogenic Electron Microscopy for Emerging Materials Research: From Quantum Materials to Energy Applications. MRS Commun. 2022, 12 (5), 471–482. https://doi.org/10.1557/s43579-022-00198-1.

C.V.

2026-Present

PhD candidate in the Materials Chemistry and Catalysis group, Utrecht University, the Netherlands, under the supervision of prof. dr. Petra de Jongh and dr. Peter Ngene

2023 – 2025

MSc in Chemistry for Energy and Sustainability, University of Amsterdam/Vrije Universiteit, Netherlands

Research internship in AMOLF (3DPV group) with title “In – situ Raman spectroscopy for the investigation of interfacial water at electrochemical reactions” supervised by prof. dr Esther Alarcón Lladó and dr. Daphne Antony.

2021 – 2023

Teacher of General, Analytical and basic Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Public institute of Vocational Training, Veroia, Greece

2016 – 2021

BSc in Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece

Track: Analytical chemistry, Environmental chemistry, Electrochemistry

Thesis: “Optimization of the critical physicochemical characteristics of activate carbon for the deep desulfurisation of liquid model fuel”, supervised by prof. Eleni Deliyanni at the Laboratory of Chemical and Environmental Technology.