MSE special speaker November 14: Yanzhou Ji, Computational understanding of chemical-reaction-induced microstructure evolution at materials interfaces

7895 students: this talk is optional, but attendance is highly encouraged.

Abstract

Materials interface is a key bottleneck for many functional, energy, and engineering materials. It is the place where the chemical reactions take place to form detrimental microstructures and degrade materials performances. Accurate prediction of chemical-reaction-induced microstructure evolution at materials interfaces remains a challenging problem due to the complicated coupling among species transport, chemical reaction, external field, and existing microstructures, as well as the competing chemical reaction paths and products. In this work, I will show that such microstructure problems can be well addressed by a phase-field model of chemical reactions involving stoichiometric and nonstoichiometric phases, as well as its integration with existing thermodynamic/diffusion mobility databases or atomistic simulations. I will show the application of the model to understand chemical-reaction-induced microstructure behaviors at different types of materials interfaces including: (1) high temperature oxidation behavior and internal-to-external oxidation transition at Ni-Al alloy surfaces; (2) formation of the detrimental SrZrO₃ phase at cathode/electrolyte interfaces of solid oxide fuel cells; (3) formation of Li dendrites and solid electrolyte interphases at anode/electrolyte interfaces of Li-ion batteries. The model is also widely applicable to many microstructure problems involving chemical reactions.

Bio

Dr. Yanzhou Ji is currently an Assistant Research Professor at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the Pennsylvania State University. He received his bachelor degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Tsinghua University in 2011. He then joined Penn State to complete his Ph.D. study (2018) and become a postdoctoral scholar (2019-2021). He has published more than 50 peer-reviewed journal articles and one book chapter. He received the Graduate Excellence in Materials Science (GEMS) Diamond Award from The American Ceramic Society (ACerS) in 2015. He is also a recipient of the Acta Materialia Outstanding Reviewer Award in 2018. His most recent research interests include chemical reaction induced microstructure evolution during synthesis of nanomaterials, operation of energy materials such as Li-ion batteries and solid oxide fuel cells, and additive manufacturing.

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