Battery Science and Engineering
This course develops a unified framework for understanding and engineering batteries from atomic-scale materials physics to cell performance and manufacturing approaches. The course covers ion/electron transport, concentrated electrolyte theory, structure and defect chemistry and diffusion in battery relevant solids, and interfacial structure and charge transfer, and kinetics in solid electrodes and electrolytes (liquid, polymer, and solid-state). Applications emphasize Li-ion, Na-ion, and solid-state systems, characterization and diagnostics, and connections to battery manufacturing and recycling. Fundamental chemistry, physics, and engineering principles governing battery response are emphasized throughout.
Topics
- Understand and calculate open-circuit voltages from reaction Gibbs energies and chemical potential relations, relate capacity to solid state materials properties, and analyze phase equilibria (solid solutions vs. two-phase reactions) and their impact on voltage profiles. Apply transport theory to batteries. Understand ionic/electronic conduction, diffusion, and migration in liquid/polymer/solid electrolytes, determine transference numbers. Describe how active-material structure and defect chemistry affect battery performance. Relate crystal structure, defect populations, and diffusion mechanisms to conductivity, rate capability, and stability in cathodes, anodes, and solid electrolytes. Evaluate and compute device-level performance metrics for batteries, including specific/volumetric energy and power, energy and coulombic efficiency, cycle/calendar life, and rate performance; interpret Ragone and capacity/voltage plots. Connect to materials properties. Understand formation, structure, and evolution of interphases, connect electrolyte chemistry, electrode potential, and temperature to interphase composition, impedance growth, and capacity fade. Optimize cells for target use-cases. Ability to use simplified porous-electrode and thermal models to trade off energy vs. power, design for fast charge, and quantify losses from kinetics, transport, and contact resistances. Diagnose failure modes and degradation pathways. Understand common degradation modes including lithium plating, transition-metal dissolution, oxygen release, gas generation, particle cracking, and dendrite formation in liquid and solid-state systems. Apply impedance and advanced electrochemical techniques to batteries. Design and interpret EIS, GITT/PITT, and rate-capability protocols to extract kinetic, transport, and thermodynamic parameters. Basic understanding of battery manufacturing processes. Relate slurry formulation, coating/drying, calendaring, electrolyte filling, and formation/aging to porosity/tortuosity, interphase quality, variability, and yield.
Official catalogue course objectives and student learning outcomes
Prerequisites & course information
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Sources
- Course catalogue ↗2026-2027