Biography

Dr. Xu received his PhD training from Lanzhou University, Institute of Physics, CAS, and Brown University (2002-2008). His PhD study focused on nanomaterials synthesis and characterizations.

He worked in State University of New York at Binghamton as a Research Associate (2007-2009) and then he worked in Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a Postdoctoral Researcher (2009-2012). Dr. Xu's research interests include electrochemistry, catalysis, solar fuels, energy storage, magnetic nanomaterials, and sensors.

Current Research Interests

• Electrocatalysis
• Electrochemical energy storage
• Electrochemical sensors
• In-situ characterization techniques for electrochemical materials
• Magnetic nanomaterials
• Green chemistry for materials processing

Project: High Performance Batteries for Building Application

We will propose to achieve 4 times of current energy density of LIBs by using elongated TiO2 nanotube as backbone to integrate with high capacity transition metal oxide/sulfide or alloy type anode (Si, Sn). This project aims at developing high energy density, fast charging, and long service life energy storage devices for future low carbon building application by using high capacity TiO2 backboned anode with high capacity lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC) or lithium rich nickel manganese cobalt oxide (LNMC) cathodes. The fabrication of the batteries will be done by scalable additive manufacturing technologies tailored for the new materials.

On the other hand, we will propose the solution to reduce the cost of the batteries to meet the daily usage of the building electric backup system. Li-S and Na-ion batteries are very attractive because the low cost and abundance of sulfur and sodium. In addition, Li-S battery has much higher energy density and thus it can be highly space-efficient. Our goal is to develop low cost battery technical solutions for buildings’ power backup systems. We aims to achieve a cost range between $60-220/kWh, which will be very competitive in the market.

In addition, we will integrate our batteries with our window/transparent solar cells. Combining with the 3D printing ability of other projects, the highly integrated batteries will be able installed into the window steel frame. Such a design will help us to achieve high space efficiency in buildings.

Selected Publications

Chao Wei, Zhenxing Feng, Murat Baisariyev, Linghui Yu, Li Zeng, Tianpin Wu, Haiyan Zhao, Yaqin Huang, Michael J. Bedzyk, Thirumany Sritharan, Zhichuan J. Xu, “Valence Change Ability and Geometrical Occupation of Substitution Cations Determine the Pseudocapacitance of Spinel Ferrite XFe2O4 (X = Mn, Co, Ni, Fe)”, Chem. Mater., 2016, 28, 4129-4133

Ying Wang, Yuanmiao Sun, Hanbin Liao, Shengnan Sun, Shuzhou Li, Joel W. Ager III, Zhichuan J. Xu, "Activation Effect of Electrochemical Cycling on Gold Nanoparticles towards the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction in Sulfuric Acid", Electrochimica Acta, 2016, 209, 440–447

Sheng Long Gaw, Jingxian Wang, Shengnan Sun, Zhili Dong, Meital Reches, Pooi See Lee, Zhichuan J. Xu, “Electrochemical Cycling Induced Surface Segregation of AuPt Nanoparticles in HClO4 and H2SO4” Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 2016, 163, F752-F760

Shengnan Sun, Ye Zhou, Benlin Hu, Qichun Zhang, Zhichuan J. Xu, "Ethylene glycol and ethanol oxidation on spinel Ni-Co oxides in alkaline", Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 2016, 163, H99-H104

Jian Zhao, Phong D. Tran, Yang Chen, Joachim S. C. Loo, James Barber, Zhichuan J. Xu, "Achieving High Electrocatalytic Efficiency on Copper: A Low-Cost Alternative to Platinum for Hydrogen Generation in Water", ACS Catalysis, 2015, 5, 4115–412.