Solid State NMR Studies of Energy Conversion and Storage Material

NMR (Nuclear magnetic resonance) spectroscopy is utilized to study energy conversion and storage materials. Different types of NMR techniques including Magic Angle Spinning, Cross-polarization and relaxation measurement experiments were employed. Four different projects are discussed in this dissertation. First, three types of CFx battery materials were investigated. Electrochemical studies have demonstrated different electrochemical performances by one type, delivering superior performance over the other two. 13C and 19F MAS NMR techniques are employed to identify the atomic/molecular structural factors that might account for differences in electrochemical performance among different types. Next as the second project, layered polymer dielectrics were investigated by NMR. Previous studies have shown that thin film capacitors are improved by using alternate layers of two polymers with complementary properties: one with a high breakdown strength and one with high dielectric constant as opposed to monolithic layers. 13C to 1H cross-polarization techniques were used to investigate any inter-layer properties that may cause the increase in the dielectric strength. The third project was to study two types of thermoelectric materials. These samples were made of heavily doped phosphorous and boron in silicon by two different methods: ball-milled and annealed. These samples were investigated by NMR to determine the degree of disorder and obtain insight into the doping efficiency. The last ongoing project is on a lithium-ion battery system. The nature of passivating layers or the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) formed on the electrodes surface is important because of the direct correlation between the SEI and the battery life time/durability. Multinuclear (7Li, 19F, 31P) techniques are employed to identify the composition of the SEI formation of both positive and negative electrodes.