Dr Siân Dutton

Currently the use of Li-ion batteries is restricted to small portable electronic devices, such as mobile phones and laptop computers. To make Li-battery technology suitable for electric vehicles, new electrode materials with improved performance are required. I aim to explore a number of new oxide materials and by chemical manipulation optimise their performance. A targeted search for new materials with the requisite properties will also be conducted. Materials will be synthesized using a variety of techniques, including ceramic, hydrothermal and sol-gel methods. Further chemical manipulation will be attempted using ion-exchange and other soft-chemical approaches. Laboratory X-ray diffraction and neutron diffraction will be used to explore the structure of the materials and the electrochemistry investigated using electrochemical cells.

I am based in the department of Physics with strong links with department of Chemistry and am looking for doctoral and Part III students for next academic year.