Opening: Bachelor/Master Thesis
We constantly offer Bachelor and Master Thesis projects. The student will be closely involved in the ongoing research efforts at GER, e.g., in the BMBF-funded project ANaBatt. In ANaBatt, we work towards anode-free alkali-metal batteries. Such an approach could help to substantially reduce size, weight and cost of batteries. With our work we focus on sustainable alternatives to lithium and cobalt. Instead, we use sodium, potassium, sulfur and/or iron. We are searching for driven, motivated and creative students. We offer excellent mentoring and support, as well as an extremely relevant research topic.
Reach out to graeberg@hu-berlin.de to discuss the details.
Bachelor / Master projects
X-ray tomography of alkali-metals in porous structures for high-performance battery anodes. Use micro-CT and synchrotron radiation at the BAMLine of BESSY II. Perform literature review. Develop experimental setup. Prepare porous materials. Perform tomography experiments. Evaluate tomography data using machine learning approaches. Summarize results in report. Present results at internal and external meetings.
Alkali-metal tensiometry using a commercial tensiometer in an inert gas atmosphere. Perform literature review. Prepare samples and structures. Set up experiment. Characterize wetting of alkali metals under battery relevant conditions. Build a custom goniometer to analyze samples that cannot be measured with commercial tool. Evaluate data using MATLAB and image processing. Summarize and present results.
Custom test cell for solid electrolyte batteries at elevated temperatures. Perform literature review of published cell designs. Develop a cell design using 3D CAD software. Select appropriate materials for chemical resistance and elevated temperatures. Purchase and manufacture all cell components. Develop solutions for capillary transport of liquid alkali metals in the battery. Perform electrochemical testing. Evaluate cell data. Summarize and present results.
Hygroscopic hydrogel-salt composites for thermal storage applications. Perform literature overview on commercialized thermal storage technologies. Synthesize hydrogels and explore different methods of salt impregnation. Use molding methods including 3D printing to create desired hydrogel structures. Test hydrogel performance as a function of environmental conditions. Evaluate sorption data. Perform thermodynamic modeling of the phase change process. Summarize and present results.