New crystalline ionic conductors are developed at Samara Polytech

Scientists of the Samara Centre for Theoretical Materials Science (SCTMS) of Samara Polytech are searching for crystalline ionic conductors with high-valent working ions (particularly, Mg, Zn, O). The latest results have been published in The Journal of Physical Chemistry C (doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.1c02984). In this work new promising Zn-ion conductors were identified through the stepwise screening of the ICSD database.The scientists' research tightly related with the modern worldwide trend towards new electrochemical energy storage systems for electric vehicles and grid energy storage.

"The world is currently experiencing a "green energy" boom. In this regard, metal-ion batteries, in particular lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), are in great demand. Compact and powerful, LIBsare cornerstone for mobile electronics and electric cars," explains Artem Kabanov, a senior researcher at SCTMS. - "We are searching for new materials for multivalent metal-ion batteries (in particular, magnesium-ion and zinc-ion batteries). Theoretically, these batteries are even more compact and simultaneously more powerful than lithium-ion batteries, and can be utilizedin electric cars, as well as in green energy storages. However, these batteries need the proper materials. We search such materials, both theoretically and experimentally. In addition, we create and support the database of these materials—batterymaterials.info (https://batterymaterials.info ), for which we recently received a certificate of state registration."

More information:
Samara Center for Theoretical Materials Science (SCTMS) was established in 2017 as a unit of Samara Polytech. The scientists of the center are engaged in the development of new software for the modeling of materials and analysis of experimental data; the creation of a new generation of electronic databases for heuristic prediction of the physical properties of solids; the development of an expert system for the effective search of materials with desired properties; the organization of a computer center for calculating properties of solids by quantum-mechanical methods; the creation and support of an web portal on theoretical materials science; the support of online forum on the use of theoretical methods in materials science; the organization of schools, workshops, seminars on theoretical materials science.

Samara Polytech as a flagship university offers a wide range of education and research programs and aims at development and transfer of high-quality and practically-oriented knowledge. The university has an established reputation in technical developments and focuses on quality education, scientific and pragmatic research, combining theory and practice in the leading regional businesses and enterprises. Education is conducted in 30 integrated groups of specialties and areas of training (about 200 degree
programs including bachelor, master programs and 55 PhD programs) such as oil and gas,
chemistry and petrochemistry, mechanics and energy, transportation, food production, defense,
IT, mechanical and automotive engineering, engineering systems administration and
automation, material science and metallurgy, biotechnology, industrial ecology, architecture, civil engineering and design, etc.

Provided by Samara State Technical University