Lab profile: Gleb Yushin, Georgia Institute of Technology

Group name: Nanotech Lab

Group leader: Gleb Yushin

Location: School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology

Further information:
http://www.nano-tech.gatech.edu/
http://www.silanano.com/
http://www.mse.gatech.edu
/faculty/yushin

Color-coded scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of multifunctional battery electrodes, which exhibit both energy storage and load-bearing properties.

Color-coded SEM micrograph showing nanostructured micron-size iron oxide particle for use in high-powder alkaline batteries.

The world is facing challenging times, but Gleb Yushin of Georgia Institute of Technology believes that nanotechnology-driven solutions will lead to a cleaner environment, lower energy consumption, and a more sustainable future.

Low-cost nanostructured materials will enable a new generation of cheaper, safer, more energy-dense and stable energy storage devices like supercapacitors and batteries. Many of these materials will also advance energy generation technologies by dramatically reducing weight and the costs of structural materials, contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, reverse global warming, preserve and eventually purify the contaminated environment.

The first step towards such innovative and far-reaching solutions is the controlled synthesis and characterization of new nanomaterials – and it is just this that is the focus of the Nanotech Lab at Georgia Institute of Technology led by Gleb Yushin, Professor of Materials Science.

In addition to his research, Gleb Yushin is also Co-Editor-in-Chief of Materials Today and co-founder of Sila Nanotechnologies, an engineered materials company focused on improving energy storage. He has received many honors including the NASA Inventions and Contributions Board Tech Brief Award, the Roland B. Snow award from the American Ceramic Society, Kavli Fellow Award, National Science Foundation CAREER Award, Air Force Office of Scientific Research Young Investigator Award, NASA Nano 50 Award, Petroleum Research Fund Young Investigator Award, Honda Initiation Award, and was a finalist in the 2017 Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists.

Gleb Yushin talked to Materials Today about his lab, research, and future plans.

How long has your team been running?

The group was established in July 2007 when I joined Georgia Tech in a tenure-track position as an Assistant Professor.

How many staff makes up your team?

At the moment, we have around seven undergraduate, 15 MS and PhD students, including visiting students and those from other departments at Georgia Tech who are working on their theses in our laboratory under my supervision. An awesome research scientist, Kostiantyn Turcheniuk, and my irreplaceable associate, Alexandre Magasinski, provide enormous help with students’ mentoring, research, and lab organization.

What are the major themes of research in your lab?

One of the cornerstones of our group’s research philosophy is the use of renewable materials and developing environmentally friendly technologies to combat climate change and contribute to building an energy- and environmentally-sustainable future. Towards this goal, we explore biologically derived materials that can meet requirements imposed by practical applications and utilize earth-abundant elements in material designs.

We focus on both fundamental studies and material innovations for advancing technologies such as Li-ion batteries, solid state batteries, aqueous batteries (including aqueous metal-ion batteries and alkaline batteries), supercapacitors and hybrid electrochemical energy storage devices for electric vehicles for ground, aerial, and sea transportation, drones, portable robots, portable electronic devices, smart textiles, and a broad range of grid storage applications to enable broader use of renewable energy sources. Our studies contribute to reducing cost and increasing energy density, specific energy, power density, specific power, cycle stability, calendar life, temperature range of efficient operation and safety of energy storage devices.

We also are exploring and inventing novel routes for the low-cost synthesis of nanomaterials, such as nanowires, nanofibers, and nanoporous materials, and using these materials (often as components of various composites and nanocomposites) in a broad range of structural/load-bearing, separation, gas storage, ion sorption, energy storage, energy conversion, and other applications.

Finally, we are developing and utilizing chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and vapor infiltration techniques for producing or improving properties of lightweight energy storage, structural, and multi-functional materials.

How and why did you come to work in these areas?

At the end of my postdoctoral studies, I became fascinated by the new opportunities that the science and technology of nanostructured and nanocomposite materials may bring and how such opportunities may be harnessed to improve solutions for portable and renewable energies.

What facilities and equipment does your lab have?

We have a broad range of electrochemical testing equipment (such as electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, galvanostats, potentiostats –nearly 200 channels in total), multiple large gloveboxes for working with air-sensitive materials, multiple vapor deposition systems (CVD, ALD, etc.), hydrothermal synthesis tool, spray pyrolysis system, various setups for solution synthesis, mixing and separation of materials and nanomaterials. We also have direct access to a broad range of advanced material characterization tools, such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), liquid nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, solid-state NMR spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), gas sorption, and many others.

Do you have a favorite piece of equipment?

I like electron microscopy and related spectroscopy tools because they offer unique insights that help solve material puzzles. Seeing newly synthesized materials in electron microscopes is like traveling and exploring an alternative universe where beauty, mystery, order and disorder may coexist and where hidden treasure may be discovered.

It is also a privilege to see objects that almost nobody else can see. Less than one in ten million people can get access to some of these tools, which is on its own very special.

What is the key to running a successful lab?

There are so many successful labs around the globe that are run in different ways. But I would highlight four aspects that I think are common to many of these and are close to my heart: (i) trust your students’ and postdocs’ abilities to do great job, while providing guidance and resources for collaborative problem solving; (ii) provide sufficient freedom to encourage collaboration and initiative; (iii) create stability and psychological safety so that all team members are comfortable to approach you (and others) with problems, issues, or challenges and help them to come up with effective solutions; (iv) attract and encourage diversity in technical and cultural backgrounds and all other senses.

What do you think has been your most influential work to date?

Our lab’s contributions to materials science of energy storage materials have the largest impact. More specifically, our work on silicon anodes and, more broadly, high capacity conversion-type active materials for Li-ion batteries as well as porous carbons and carbon-based nanocomposites for electrochemical capacitors has had most influence on other scientists and the field.

How do you plan to develop your lab in the future?

I will keep challenging myself and others to keep focusing attention on materials science areas, which will positively affect most people now and in the future such as cleaner and healthier environments, renewable energy, lighter and stronger materials and others.