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The Grey group studies the nature of solid state materials by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), X-ray and Neutron scattering, electron microscopy and computational calculations. The materials we investigate have applications in supercapacitors, fuel cells, and batteries. 

Our current research projects are described here and a full list of publications is available here. We currently have 56 group members including 4 Master students, 26 PhD students (15 of whom are co-supervised by another PI) and 26 Post-Doctoral researchers all listed here. The group is very dynamic and also very international with over 20 nationalities represented.

Recent News: 

Congratulations to Teresa Insinna for passing her PhD viva!

A large cohort from the group attended the Faraday Institution's 2024 conference in Newcastle. Congratulations to Dr Veronika Sedajova for winning a poster prize, and to PhD student Jessica McConnell for a commendation in the "Intercalation Station" essay prize.

Congratulations to Astrid Berge, PhD student, for winning a poster prize at the Rocky Mountain NMR conference!

Congratulations to Holly Smith for passing her PhD viva!

Congratulations to Dr. Sundeep Vema for winning the Young Surface Analyst Castle Prize at the UK Surface Analysis Forum Summer Meeting!

Welcome to the Grey group's 2024 cohort of FUSE interns, who have been arriving in Cambridge over the past few weeks.

Congratulations to Astrid Berge, PhD student, who won the best poster award at the RSC's NMR discussion group postgraduate meeting!

Congratulations to Clare, who has been elected as an international member of the US National Academy of Sciences! More information here.

Every year, the group hosts a cohort of undergraduate summer interns - mostly through the Faraday Institution's FUSE scheme. You can read about one of last year's interns here.

Related Publications 

Stability and Redox Mechanisms of Ni-Rich NMC Cathodes: Insights from First-Principles Many-Body Calculations
H Banerjee, CP Grey, AJ Morris – Chemistry of Materials (2024) 36, 6575
Probing Jahn-Teller Distortions and Antisite Defects in LiNiO2 with 7Li NMR Spectroscopy and Density Functional Theory.
AR Genreith-Schriever, CS Coates, K Märker, ID Seymour, EN Bassey, CP Grey – Chemistry of Materials (2024) 36, 4226
Structural disorder determines capacitance in nanoporous carbons.
X Liu, D Lyu, C Merlet, MJA Leesmith, X Hua, Z Xu, CP Grey, AC Forse – Science (New York, N.Y.) (2024) 384, 321
The Interplay of Solvation and Polarization Effects on Ion Pairing in Nanoconfined Electrolytes
KD Fong, B Sumić, N O'Neill, C Schran, CP Grey, A Michaelides – Nano letters (2024) 24, 5024
Spiers Memorial Lecture: Lithium air batteries – tracking function and failure
JB Fritzke, JHJ Ellison, L Brazel, G Horwitz, S Menkin, CP Grey – Faraday Discussions (2024) 248, 9
Transition metal dissolution and degradation in nmc811-graphite electrochemical cells
Z Ruff, C Xu, CP Grey – Journal of the Electrochemical Society (2021) 168, 060518
Operando optical tracking of single-particle ion dynamics in batteries
AJ Merryweather, C Schnedermann, Q Jacquet, CP Grey, A Rao – Nature (2021) 594, 522
Structural Origins of Voltage Hysteresis in the Na-Ion Cathode P2-Na0.67[Mg0.28Mn0.72]O2: A Combined Spectroscopic and Density Functional Theory Study.
EN Bassey, PJ Reeves, MA Jones, J Lee, ID Seymour, G Cibin, CP Grey – Chem Mater (2021) 33, 4890
Combined High-Resolution Solid-State 1H/13C NMR Spectroscopy and 1H NMR Relaxometry for the Characterization of Kerogen Thermal Maturation
F Panattoni, J Mitchell, EJ Fordham, R Kausik, CP Grey, PCMM Magusin – Energy & Fuels (2020) 35, 1070
A Magic Angle Spinning Activated 17O DNP Raser
MA Hope, S Björgvinsdóttir, CP Grey, L Emsley – J Phys Chem Lett (2020) 12, 345
Titanium Niobium Oxide: From Discovery to Application in Fast-Charging Lithium-Ion Batteries
KJ Griffith, Y Harada, S Egusa, RM Ribas, RS Monteiro, RB Von Dreele, AK Cheetham, RJ Cava, CP Grey, JB Goodenough – Chemistry of Materials (2020) 33, 4
Bulk and Surface Chemistry of the Niobium MAX and MXene Phases from Multinuclear Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy.
KJ Griffith, MA Hope, PJ Reeves, M Anayee, Y Gogotsi, CP Grey – Journal of the American Chemical Society (2020) 142, 18924
Operando NMR of NMC811/Graphite Lithium-Ion Batteries: Structure, Dynamics, and Lithium Metal Deposition
K Märker, C Xu, CP Grey – ECS Meeting Abstracts (2020) MA2020-02, 3172
Revealing the Structure and Oxygen Transport at Interfaces in Complex Oxide Heterostructures via 17O NMR Spectroscopy
MA Hope, B Zhang, B Zhu, DM Halat, JL MacManus-Driscoll, CP Grey – Chemistry of Materials (2020) 32, 7921
Bulk fatigue induced by surface reconstruction in layered Ni-rich cathodes for Li-ion batteries
C Xu, K Märker, J Lee, A Mahadevegowda, PJ Reeves, SJ Day, MF Groh, SP Emge, C Ducati, B Layla Mehdi, CC Tang, CP Grey – Nat Mater (2020) 20, 84
Electrolyte Oxidation Pathways in Lithium-Ion Batteries.
BLD Rinkel, DS Hall, I Temprano, CP Grey – J Am Chem Soc (2020) 142, 15058
Local Structure and Dynamics in Methylammonium, Formamidinium, and Cesium Tin(II) Mixed-Halide Perovskites from 119Sn Solid-State NMR
DJ Kubicki, D Prochowicz, E Salager, A Rakhmatullin, CP Grey, L Emsley, SD Stranks – Journal of the American Chemical Society (2020) 142, 7813
Intrinsic Kinetic Limitations in Substituted Lithium-Layered Transition-Metal Oxide Electrodes.
A Grenier, PJ Reeves, H Liu, ID Seymour, K Märker, KM Wiaderek, PJ Chupas, CP Grey, KW Chapman – Journal of the American Chemical Society (2020) 142, 7001
Effects of Atmospheric Gases on Li Metal Cyclability and Solid-Electrolyte Interphase Formation
E Wang, S Dey, T Liu, S Menkin, CP Grey – ACS Energy Letters (2020) 5, 1088