NSF CAREER Award

Associate Professor of Chemistry Alexis Grimaud, a leading researcher in battery materials chemistry whose work is significant to the field of energy applications, has been awarded a five-year, nearly $600,000 National Science Foundation CAREER Award.

The award will further his research on battery materials, which focuses on finding ways to enable the use of materials previously deemed too unstable in the battery environment, and designing novel liquid electrolytes with tunable chemical properties. It also will strengthen the pipeline of future researchers in the field, as Grimaud will use his data to offer educational initiatives for students on campus.

A signature initiative to support early-career scientists, the CAREER Award is NSF’s most prestigious honor for young faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in their fields.

“I am excited about this project because it opens new avenues to get an exquisite control of the electronic and structural properties of this vastly unexplored family of materials, with applications not only in batteries but also in electronics and quantum technologies,” Grimaud said. “With several groups at BC making strides on these topics, it is an exciting time to explore such materials.”

Grimaud, who joined the Boston College faculty in 2022, is principal investigator of the project “Controlling dimensionality and ligand connectivity to tune intercalation properties in transition metal oxychlorides.”  He leads the Grimaud Research Group, which explores fundamental mechanisms at electrochemical interfaces.

His project is significant to the field of energy applications because to date, materials for rechargeable Li- and Na-ion batteries—technologies ubiquitous to modern life—suffer from geographical sourcing constraints, he said. A goal is to improve rechargeable Li- and Na-ion battery technologies by enhancing their energy density and their scalability, and to inform the development of lithium and sodium battery materials.

“The same battery material may succeed or fail depending on the electrolyte surrounding it,” Grimaud explained. “We have demonstrated that complex materials can be used as battery materials, opening an entirely new family of battery electrode materials.”

His team established that a material made of only iron, oxygen, and chloride, all abundant and inexpensive, can deliver energy density and performance on par with current state-of-the-art material made of iron and phosphate—the latter associated with geographical sourcing/refining constraints, and in competition with the agricultural industry.

With support from the NSF’s Solid State and Materials Chemistry Program, his team “will explore the chemical and physical properties of mixed anion materials, composed of oxygen and chloride, upon intercalation [the reversible insertion of ions or molecules into a host structure] with Li or Na.” Having recently achieved reversible Li intercalation in several of these oxychloride materials, they will “develop and improve this material and investigate Li and Na intercalation as a way to fine tune the properties of other oxychloride materials with potential application in electronics,” he said.

“Professor Grimaud is a leading researcher in battery materials chemistry and an exceptional educator who teaches physical chemistry and solid-state materials,” said Chemistry Professor and Chair Jianmin Gao. “We are absolutely delighted to see him recognized with the prestigious NSF CAREER award. This honor will provide a tremendous boost as he continues to expand his cutting-edge research and innovative educational initiatives here at Boston College.”

Grimaud underscored the importance of sharing his data with future scientists: both BC students and first-generation Boston-area students in the University’s Pine Manor Institute for Student Success. The youths in grades 8-12 are participants in The Academy, a cost-free summer enrichment program with year-round support.

 “I am excited to engage with students participating in the Pine Manor Institute to introduce, including with laboratory activities, the concept of batteries and raise their awareness of materials sourcing, refining, and overall societal impact,” Grimaud said.

“With battery technologies rapidly changing the world, the field is at a turning point in which materials design must be approached with their socio-ecological consequences in mind. I look forward to introducing undergraduate and graduate students to these concepts through class content and seminars.