This student-run monthly series spotlights the latest research from Stanford, presented by PhD candidates and postdocs. Registration is required, and is free and open to the public.

This month's speakers:

Sanzeeda Baig Shuchi, Ph.D. Student, Stanford University
"Cryogenic X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy for pristine interface chemistry analysis in batteries"

Talk Abstract: Understanding the chemical environment of pristine interfaces is a long-sought goal in electrochemistry, materials science and surface science. A substantial understanding of one such interface, the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) in lithium anodes, originates from X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). However, room temperature (RT) combined with ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) can induce major SEI evolution from reactions and volatilization during XPS. Thus, a technique is necessary for SEI stabilization. Here we develop cryogenic (cryo)-XPS with immediate plunge freezing and demonstrate SEI preservation. We discover substantially different SEI speciation and a thicker pristine SEI with cryo-XPS, free from RT-associated thickness reduction and alterations to important species, including LiF and Li2O, in UHV. This new access to pristine SEI composition enables performance correlations across diverse electrolyte chemistries. Primarily, we highlight the necessity of studying sensitive interfaces under cryogenic conditions.

Speaker bio: Sanzeeda Baig Shuchi is a Ph.D. candidate in Chemical Engineering at Stanford University. She is a TomKat Center Graduate Fellow for Translational Research and a Link Foundation Energy Fellow, where her research focuses on interface engineering for lithium battery stability under the supervision of Professor Stacey F. Bent and Professor Yi Cui. Her doctoral research contributions include the development and application of cryogenic X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to probe pristine battery interfaces, deconvolution of interfacial parameters in lithium metal batteries, the use of atomic layer deposition to improve battery interfacial stability, and developing new processes for functional battery interface design. Her work has been recognized through multiple prestigious honors, including the AVS Nellie Yeoh Whetten Award, AIChE Gamry Award, ACS CAS Future Leaders Top 100, the MRS Arthur Nowick Graduate Student Award, the MRS Graduate Student Silver Award, and selection as an MIT Rising Star in Chemical Engineering. Recently, she has been awarded the Miller Research Fellowship to pursue postdoctoral research at the University of California, Berkeley. Driven by challenges in energy and sustainability, in future, she aims to establish an independent research program that addresses critical global energy challenges through fundamental and translational research.

Registration is open to all and free