PhD student in Recycling of Solid Electrolytes for All-Solid-State Batteries

About this position

The Department of Chemistry - Ångström conducts research and education in the chemistry field. The department has more than 270 employees and has a turnover of 300 million SEK. At the department's six programs, we conduct very successful research of a high international standard.

We have a large number of externally funded research projects, often with international cooperation and we see continued good growth in our subject area. The department has education assignments in engineering programs and master's programs. More information is available on our website.

Department of Chemistry Ångström Laboratory

The Department of Chemistry – Ångström Laboratory has for many years hosted an environment focused on research and development of materials and their applications within the energy storage area: the Ångström Advanced Battery Centre. We develop novel electrode and electrolyte materials, characterize them, evaluate and improve them with respect to battery performance, and study fundamental chemical processes and properties using both experimental and computational techniques. The research is, as such, both fundamental and applied

Duties

The project aims to establish a scientific basis for the recycling of solid electrolytes used in all-solid-state batteries (ASSBs). The project is a collaboration between Uppsala University, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Université de Lorraine in France, combining expertise in solid-state chemistry, battery materials, hydrometallurgy, purification and crystallization.The project focuses on lithium halide solid electrolytes, an emerging class of materials with high ionic conductivity and promising electrochemical stability. The central goal is to understand how the recycling process and impurities introduced during battery operation and recycling influence the structure, ionic transport and electrochemical performance of resynthesized solid electrolytes.

The results will be used to establish precursor quality specifications for closed-loop recycling of solid-state battery materials.

The doctoral student will be based at Uppsala University and will work across the different stages of the recycling process. Key duties include synthesis and structural characterization of lithium-containing halide solid electrolytes, preparation and characterization of solid-state battery cells, ionic transport measurements using impedance spectroscopy, and investigation of the influence of impurities on material and cell performance.

The candidate will also participate in the development and evaluation of recycled precursor materials produced through hydrometallurgical processing. A research stay at Université de Lorraine in France, where the candidate will work on leaching and purification processes, is an integral part of the project. The candidate will also collaborate with researchers at KTH on crystallization and synthesis of purified precursor materials.

The work will involve a combination of synthesis, structural and chemical characterization, electrochemical measurements, data analysis and interpretation. Particular emphasis will be placed on establishing quantitative relationships between precursor composition, impurity content, crystal structure, ionic transport and battery performance.

The duties may also include:

Planning and performing air- and moisture-sensitive synthesis of inorganic solid electrolytes

Structural and chemical characterization using techniques such as powder X-ray diffraction, SEM-EDS and XPS

Ionic transport characterization using temperature-dependent impedance spectroscopy

Assembly and electrochemical testing of solid-state battery cells

Analysis and interpretation of experimental data

Research visits to collaborating institutions in Sweden and France

Supervision of degree projects

Data analysis and dissemination of research results through scientific publications and conference presentations

Teaching at first and second cycle level

Administration linked to the tasks above