Research

In the past years, the Electrochemical Energy Laboratory (EEL) at WPI has established two main research areas. The first one is electrochemistry-based technologies, including battery materials and structures, manufacturing, design, and recycling (shown in the below Figure). The second one is recycling and industrial sustainability including metal production using electrochemical methods and materials recycling. The goal of our research is not only to generate new knowledge in this field but also to develop technologies that could have a positive impact on the industry and the world. Current research topics are the following with selected publications.

  • Closed Loop Lithium Ion Battery Recycling

  • Cathode Materials for Lithium Ion and Sodium-Ion Batteries

  • Solid Electrolyte and Solid State Batteries

  • Battery Life Extension

  • Solvent-Free Electrode Manufacturing

  • Solar Panel Recycling

  • Fuel Cell and Electrolyzer Recycling

  • Green Iron and Steel Manufacturing

Figure.1 Battery Research Portfolio at Prof. Yan Wang’s Lab at WPI               

 

Selected Publications

Panya Thanwisai, Zeyi Yao, Muntasir Shahabuddin, Jiahui Hou, Jinzhao Fu, Adam C. Powell IV, and Yan Wang*, Sustainable Iron Production via Highly Efficient Low-Temperature Electrolysis of 3D Conductive Colloidal Electrodes, Green Chemistry, Volume 26, 2024, pages 9176-9185

Yangtao Liu, Xiangtao Gong, Chinmoy Podder, Fan Wang, Zeyuan Li, Jianzhao Liu, Jinzhao Fu, Xiaotu Ma, Panawan Vanaphuti, Rui Wang, Andrew Hitt, Yavuz Savsatli, Zhenzhen Yang, Mingyuan Ge, Wah-Keat Lee, Bryan Yonemoto, Ming Tang, Heng Pan, Yan Wang*, Roll-to-roll solvent-free manufactured electrodes for fast-charging batteries, Joule, Volume 7, Issue 5, 2023, Pages 952-970

Xiaotu Ma, Jiahui Hou, Panawan Vanaphuti, Zeyi Yao, Jinzhao Fu, Luaman Azhari, Yangtao Liu, and Yan Wang*, Direct Upcycling of Mixed Ni-Lean Polycrystals to Single-Crystal Ni-Rich Cathode Materials, Chem, Volume 8, Issue 7, 2022, Pages 1944-1955

Xiaotu Ma, Mengyuan Chen, Zhangfeng Zheng, Dennis Bullen, Jun Wang, Chloe Harrison, Eric Gratz, Yulin Lin, Zhenzhen Yang, Youtian Zhang, Fan Wang, David Robertson, Seoung-Bum Son, Ira Bloom, Jianguo Wen, Mingyuan Ge, Xianghui Xiao, Wah-Keat Lee, Ming Tang, Qiang Wang, Jinzhao Fu, Yubin Zhang, Bryer C. Sousa, Renata Arsenault, Peter Karlson, Nakia Simon, Yan Wang, Recycled Cathode Materials Enabled Superior Performance for Lithium-Ion Batteries, Joule, Volume 5, Issue 11, 2021, Pages 2955-2970

Yubin Zhang, Xiao Sun, Daxian Cao, Guanhui Gao, Zhenzhen Yang, Hongli Zhu, Yan Wang, Self-Stabilized LiNi0.8Mn0.1Co0.1O2 in Thiophosphate-based All-Solid-State Batteries through Extra LiOH, Energy Storage Materials, Volume 41, 2021, Pages 505-514

Mengyuan Chen, Xiaotu Ma, Bin Chen, Renata Arsenault, Peter Karlson, Nakia Simon, Yan Wang*, Recycling End-of-Life Electric Vehicle Lithium Ion Batteries, Joule, Volume 3, 2019, Pages 2622–2646