Electrochemistry for Energy Storage and Information Processing

Welcome

We reside in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan. Our research combines the synthetic power of materials chemistry with the nanoscale precision of microelectronics, targeted towards the two grand challenges of energy storage and computing. We aim to develop fundamental mechanistic insights and rational design rules for improved devices. We practice hypothesis-based scientific inquiry combining observation, hypothesis, and experimental validation. Our research furthermore places a strong focus on statistics and data-driven experimental approaches. We foster an open and supportive environment where all students can thrive, and welcome students of all majors, educational experiences, and backgrounds.

Please click through this site to learn more about our work.

Information about joining the group:

Information about applying for an MS or PhD at the University of Michigan, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, can be found on this website: https://mse.engin.umich.edu/graduate/admissions. Prospective applicants are welcome to email Yiyang before or after they apply, but the admissions committee makes the admissions decisions, not individual faculty in the MSE department. This policy may be different at other universities and even other departments at the University of Michigan.

If you are an undergraduate or MS student at the University of Michigan who would like to work with us for credit, please read a published research paper from the group and email Yiyang with what kind of research you would like to work on. The paper should be a "research" and not a "review" or "perspective" article, and the first author should be a current or former student from our group. The first author should not be Yiyang.

If you are enrolled at a different institution, we can only accept visiting students as part of REU and other programs. Some information about REUs that we participate with are posted at https://reu.engin.umich.edu. Due to US labor and immigration laws, students who are not enrolled at a US university and who do not have qualified work authorization in the US are not allowed to conduct research in our lab, regardless of funding status, unless they have an existing collaboration with our group.

Outside REU programs, we offer special research opportunities for current and former members of the US Armed Forces at any educational level (community college, undergraduate, or graduate) from any institution, during the school year or during summer breaks. These students can directly email Yiyang.

Email: yiyangli@umich.edu

News

Dongjae Shin wins Rackham Predoctoral Fellowship (12-March-2025)

Dongjae Shin wins the Rackham Predoctoral Fellowship for the 2025-26 academic year. Dongjae is the second student in the group, after Jinhong Min, to win this prestigious dissertation fellowship.

Li+ Group attends Electronic Materials and Applications (27-February-2025).

Dongjae Shin, Andrew Jalbert, and Sangyong Lee attend the Electronic Materials and Applications (EMA) meeting in Denver, Colorado, presenting our group's work on microelectronics.

Dongjae Shin wins Helen & Rolf Illsley Scholarship (1-February-2025)

Dongjae Shin, a third-year Ph.D. student, received the Helen & Rolf Illsey Scholarship from the Society of Vacuum Coaters Foundation (SVCF). Dongjae is conducting research focused on vacuum deposition technologies, the findings from which could revolutionize applications in batteries, memories and synaptic transistors.

(more news)

Research Project Summary

All of our research projects relate to the overlap between microelectronics and batteries, two of the most important technologies of modern society. We believe that much can be learned by cross-pollinating ideas and concepts from one field onto the other.

Oxygen Defect Kinetics in Microelectronic Devices

Transition metal oxides are important for many microelectronic devices, including gate dielectrics like HfO2, resistive memory like Ta2O5, thin-film transistors like zinc oxide, and ferroelectrics like (Hf,Zr)O2. Our research aims to understand how the thermodynamics and kinetics of oxygen defects in these materials control the funtional electronic properties of these materials. While our initial research focuses on resistive memory, we have begun to branch into other microelectronic devices.

Electrochemical random-access memory

We believe that the atom is the highest density information storage element. With over 106 atoms in a small (30-nm)3 volume, we anticipate that the ability to dynamically control the number of atomic point defects in materials can be used to achieve truly analog memory.

We developed the electrochemical random-access memory cell that will enable precise control of atoms in a memory device. By harnessing the ability to move atomic point defect in a device, we can develop truly nonvolatile analog memory.

Variability in Li-ion batteries

Li-ion batteries are made from micron-sized, redox-active particles in porous electrodes. However, while it is easy to measure differences in their size or morphology, it has not been possible to measure differences in electrochemical properties like lithium diffusion and interfacial reactivity.

To answer this question, we will quantify the electrochemical properties of individual battery particles, and correlate these properties with structural and compositional features. This research aims to determine how the composition and the microstructure of battery particles ultimately affect their electrochemical properties.

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