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Arumugam Manthiram

George T. and Gladys H. Abell Endowed Chair of Engineering
Professor, Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering

Our research is focused on the design and development of high-performance, affordable, supply-chain-friendly materials for electrochemical energy conversion and storage with a firm basic science understanding of the richness and complexities involved (see research and publications pages).

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A History of Excellence

  • Iron is the cheapest metal; 93% of mining worldwide is iron, yet iron could not be employed in oxide cathodes for lithium-ion batteries. Manthiram invented in the 1980s a path to employ iron in cathodes as polyanion oxides that has a profound scientific and technological impact: (i) Opened up the broad field of polyanion cathodes, including LiFePO4 (LFP), LVP, NVP, NVPF, etc. for lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries; (2) discovery of the inductive effect caused by counter-cations that enabled to increase the cell voltage with more stable lower-valent redox couples like Fe2+/3+; (3) enhanced thermal stability, safety, and cycle life of batteries due to the tightly bound oxygen in the covalently bonded polyanion groups and lower-valent redox couples. See https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-15355-0.
  • Our group eliminated expensive and scarcely available cobalt in layered oxide cathodes used in lithium-ion batteries. By licensing our patents, TexPower EV Technologies in Houston, Texas, is engaged in manufacturing tons of cobalt-free cathodes: https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202002718.
  • Electrolytes are currently the major bottleneck for batteries. Our group isstabilizing lithium-based and sodium-based batteries with better safetythrough novel electrolyte development: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-024-01469-y.
  • Our group is advancing the viability of affordable lithium-sulfur and sodium-sulfur batteries by stabilizing the electrode-electrolyte interfaces: https://doi.org/10.1039/D1EE01113H.
  • Manthiram delivered the 2019 Chemistry Nobel Prize Lecture on behalf of Professor John B. Goodenough. View the Youtube video here: https://youtu.be/Xlm-C-qr63Y.