CBE Seminar: Alexa Easley (Cornell University)

Abstract

Real Time Monitoring of Redox-active Polymers and CO 2 Release

Within a few decades, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have revolutionized technologies facilitating the rapid development of new portable devices and electric vehicles. However, this rapid technology growth has exceeded the ability to address issues associated with mining lithium, cobalt and other mineral ore resources, their safe usage, and their non-hazardous disposal. Indeed, only a small fraction of LIBs are recycled, further exacerbating global material supply for these strategic elements. In fact, if current demand continues, there will be a global deficit of cobalt by 2030. To curb this reliance on strategic elements, organic-based electroactive materials have received considerable attention as alternative electrode materials for LIBs. Next-generation organic-based electroactive materials chemistries seek to apply innovative approaches to address the need for on-demand deconstruction and reconstruction of batteries. Here, the influence of electrolyte valency on coupled water-ion transport is determined for viologen-based redox-active polymers. The second part of the talk will focus on new initiation strategies for the synthesis of polymers. Specifically, there is a need to identify safe and easy-of-use latent initiators for applications in industrially relevant polymerizations. Here, the real time decarboxylation for a family of thermally latent initiators is discussed. The interplay between initiator structure and the molecular weight distribution of the resulting polymers is considered.

Biography

Alexandra Easley is a Klarman Post-Doctoral Fellow at Cornell University working with Brett Fors on carbon capture and utilization in polymer chemistry. She received her Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Texas A&M University, where her research focused on the fundamental properties and application of non-conjugated polymeric materials for energy storage. She received her bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering from Texas A&M University in 2017. She was previously a NSF-GRFP and Texas A&M Diversity fellow.