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Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry

 

Geoffrey Moorhouse Gibson Professor of Chemistry

Room M21

Materials Chemistry: Structure and Function

We use a wide range of techniques, including solid state NMR and diffraction, to investigate local structure and the role that this plays in controlling the physical properties of technologically important, but disordered materials.

Rechargeable Batteries

New batteries are required for transport applications and for storage and load-leveling on the electrical grid. These batteries should be capable of being charged and discharged faster, and should store much more power, than the batteries currently available. This requires the development of new electrode chemistries and an understanding of how these systems function. To this end, we study a variety of different rechargeable batteries including lithium and sodium ion batteries (LIBs and NIBs).  We probe the mechanisms for lithium insertion and extraction by, for example, using 6Li/7Li NMR and investigate the effect of local structure and electronic properties on LIB battery performance. Two types of electrode materials are investigated, those that operate via intercalation reactions, where the structure remains largely intact upon Li insertion, and those that react via conversion reactions where the structures transform completely upon reaction with Li. In the latter reactions, our studies focus on identifying the nano-sized (or amorphous) phases that form on Li reaction, how they are formed and how to improve the reversibilities of these reactions. Studies of intercalation compounds include the effect of cation doping and ordering on the mechanisms by which these materials react.

In-situ NMR Studies of Battery and Supercapacitor Function

We have developed NMR methodology to monitor structural changes that occur during the operation of a battery/supercapacitor. These in-situ NMR studies allow us to, for example, capture metastable phases, follow reactions between the electrolyte and the electrode materials and to investigate the effect of rapid charging and cycling of the battery.  For supercapacitors, we can, for example, monitor ions entering or leaving the pores of the highly porous materials that form the electrodes of these devices. 

Solid-State Electrolytes for Fuel Cells and Solid State Batteries 

We use NMR to study investigate mechanisms for ionic conduction. By identifying individual crystallographic or interstitial sites in often highly disordered materials, we can determine which sites are responsible for ionic conduction, where the vacancies or interstitial ions are located, and obtain a much deeper understanding of how these materials function as ionic conductors. Studies focus on perovskite materials, which can act as both oxygen and proton (when hydrated) conductors.  We also investigate both oxide and sulphide-based lithium ion conductors for solid state batteries 

Take a tour of the Grey lab facilities

 

Publications

Dome-like pressure-temperature phase diagram of the cooperative Jahn-Teller distortion in NaNiO2.
LAV Nagle-Cocco, JMA Steele, S Deng, X Zhang, D Daisenberger, AR Genreith-Schriever, SS Saxena, CP Grey, SE Dutton
– Journal of physics. Condensed matter : an Institute of Physics journal
(2025)
37,
205401
Solid-State NMR Investigations of the Lithium- and Sodium-Storage Mechanisms of Pyrolytic Phosphorus-Carbon Composites
C Clark, CA O'Keefe, DS Wright, CP Grey
– ChemSusChem
(2025)
e2500103
Probing the electrochemical behaviour of lithium imide as an electrolyte for solid-state batteries.
JP Lowen, T Insinna, TV Beatriceveena, MP Stockham, B Dong, SJ Day, CP Grey, E Kendrick, PR Slater, PA Anderson, JW Makepeace
– EES batteries
(2025)
On the Physical Origins of Reduced Ionic Conductivity in Nanoconfined Electrolytes.
KD Fong, CP Grey, A Michaelides
– ACS Nano
(2025)
19,
13191
Structural Elucidation of Na<sub>2/3</sub>NiO<sub>2</sub>, a Dynamically Stabilized Cathode Phase with Nickel Charge and Sodium Vacancy Ordering.
JMA Steele, AR Genreith-Schriever, JD Bocarsly, LAV Nagle-Cocco, FN Sayed, M Juramy, CA O’Keefe, F Orlandi, P Manuel, SE Dutton, CP Grey
– Chemistry of materials : a publication of the American Chemical Society
(2025)
37,
2581
Nature of the Oxygen-Loss-Induced Rocksalt Layer and Its Impact on Capacity Fade in Ni-Rich Layered Oxide Cathodes
NA Shah, GJ Páez Fajardo, H Banerjee, GC Pandey, AS Menon, M Ans, V Majherova, G Bree, S Bolloju, DC Grinter, P Ferrer, PK Thakur, TL Lee, MJ Loveridge, AJ Morris, CP Grey, LFJ Piper
– ACS Energy Letters
(2025)
10,
1313
Exploration of potential-limited protocols to prevent inefficiencies in Li–O2 batteries during charge
Z Lacour, Y Ham, L Brazel, CP Grey, I Temprano
– Chemical Communications
(2025)
61,
2516
Resolving Structures of Paramagnetic Systems in Chemistry and Materials Science by Solid‐State NMR: The Revolving Power of Ultra‐Fast MAS
J Koppe, KJ Sanders, TC Robinson, AL Lejeune, D Proriol, S Wegner, A Purea, F Engelke, RJ Clément, CP Grey, AJ Pell, G Pintacuda
– Angewandte Chemie
(2025)
137,
Identification of the dual roles of Al2O3 coatings on NMC811-cathodes via theory and experiment
RLB Chen, FN Sayed, H Banerjee, I Temprano, J Wan, AJ Morris, CP Grey
– Energy and Environmental Sciences
(2025)
18,
1879
Identification of the dual roles of Al2O3 coatings on NMC811-cathodes via theory and experiment
RLB Chen, FN Sayed, H Banerjee, I Temprano, J Wan, AJ Morris, CP Grey
– Energy &amp; Environmental Science
(2025)
18,
1879
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Research Group

Research Interest Groups

Email address

cpg27@cam.ac.uk