The Hallinan Lab studies polymers for advanced energy sustainability. This is increasingly important as petroleum usage is decreased and as intermittent renewable sources, such as wind and solar energy, become more prevalent. Significant improvements in safety, cost, and energy density of commercial batteries are possible by replacing the currently used liquid electrolyte with solid (polymer) electrolyte. Other areas of energy sustainability that motivate our research are membrane-based water desalination and carbon dioxide capture. Polymer membranes for batteries, water, or carbon dioxide capture must be mechanically strong with selective transport properties. Nanostructured polymeric materials can exhibit such combination of properties.
We are interested in the dynamics of these heterogeneous polymer materials, such as block copolymers and polymer-grafted nanoparticles. Multiple phases dispersed throughout a material enables advanced properties that cannot be achieved in materials without structure. For example, we can combine a hydrophilic phase that conducts water or ions with a hydrophobic material that provides mechanical strength. The effect of structure on water and ion transport as well as mechanical strength can be complex. Therefore, we pursue advanced experimental techniques that allow us to measure multicomponent diffusion and local relaxations. Please visit our research page for more details.
Kyoungmin Kim successfully defended his dissertation on July 1st, 2022. Congratulations Dr. Kim! He is now working as a Research Scientists at Storagenergy Technologies
Undergraduate Researcher Presented IDEA Grant Results
The President's Showcase of Undergraduate Research Excellence hosted undergraduate researchers presenting their IDEA Grant results. Ashley David, a member of the Hallinan Lab, was awarded the Steve Madden Undergraduate Research Award. She presented the results of her research on Analyzing the Soret Effect Using Time- Resolved FTIR-ATR. Her participation was made possible by this award. Her efforts have resulted in new insight into the Soret Effect and a manuscript submitted for publication. You can view the presentation slides here here.
Polymer and Composite Electrolyte Review Webinar
The Frontiers of Solid State Batteries Webinar hosted jointly by MRS and ECS includes a presentation by Prof. Daniel Hallinan (starting at 1:01:00). He reviews the article on polymer and composite electrolytes that was published with Dr. Irune Villaluenga and Prof. Nitash Balsara in the October 2018 issue of
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