Ok morning meetings done! I will kick off today by talking a little bit about how I ended up all the way in Sweden.

I originally did my undergraduate studies within at @Sydney_Uni. I was actually originally studying a combined science, commerce degree at the time!
However, in my third year I rediscovered my love for crystals and discovered the joys of #crystallography in the solid state chemistry course. This led to a research project in @SydneyChemistry in 2009 on lithium conduction in defect perovskites that grew into my PhD project. Image
I will talk more on the science of my project later. For now how did I find my way to Sweden? Well, I was fortunate enough in my PhD to have to opportunity to travel abroad to conferences. Such as AsCA in Busan Korea (where I looked very different compared to today...) ImageImage
Attending conferences is a great way to meet and network with others in the field. It was one conference in particular that really taught me that its not what you know but who you know. This was the International Meeting of Lithium-Ion Batteries on Jeju Island, Korea in 2012.
There I met a researcher from the @angstromABC who was working on building devices for studying battery materials using #neutrons. As I was working on this too I started a dialogue with him which turned into discussions of a collaboration.
Next thing you know, a year later I found myself in Sweden and then the @isisneutronmuon source to perform experiments connected to this collaboration. It was also my first experience of building batteries in a glovebox...it isn't easy. Image
However, the week I was in Sweden preparing I had the great fortune to meet @KristinaEdstrm2 and Dr Torbjörn Gustafsson, both of whom had a long history of studying battery materials with diffraction. Including the first in situ neutron experiment on a custom built battery.
While brief, this meeting led to Prof. Edström offering me a postdoc position in 2015 working in the @StructuralChem1 group and continuing my work on methods of studying batteries during operation using diffraction. I have been here ever since :).
So, what have I learned from this journey?

- You never know where or when you might run into that career changing collaboration
- Networking is key for finding opportunities in the first place
- Sometimes relocating to a new country is needed to utilise these opportunities
I think one final thing I need to add is that, looking back I never would have predicted this path. Or that I would end up potentially permantly in Sweden. So keep an open mind about career paths and opportunities :)

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More from @RealSci_Nano

23 Jun
The story of how @Altris_ab came to be and my involvement in PBA research is also a nice one. It was really a combination of the right people meeting at the right time and at the right place.
It began with Ronnie Mogensen, who was working on polymer electrolytes at the time and just needed a reliable positive electrode that was easy to make. He tried NaFePO4 which didn't always function. Then he turned to NaxFe[Fe(CN)6]. This always worked to a reasonable degree
He then stumbled upon a paper where the group of John Goodenough (Nobel laureate in chemistry for Li-ion #batteries) made rhombohedral Prussian white. pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/ja…
Read 22 tweets
23 Jun
So how about Prussian blue analogues (PBAs) in batteries? In addition to @Altris_ab there are a number of other companies developing this class of compounds for energy storage applications. What makes them so attractive?
PBAs are commonly used as the positive electrode in beyond Li-ion batteries (sodium, potassium). They have an open structure leading to fast cation insertion. Additionally, due to the strong bonding of the cyanide ligand transition metals like iron have a decent voltage output. Image
Indeed, the performance metrics of PBAs, in particular the iron-based Na2Fe[Fe(CN)6], are quite similar to those of LiFePO4 (LFP). However, PBAs have the additional advantage of a simple and low cost synthesis making them very interesting to develop cheap sustainable batteries Image
Read 5 tweets
23 Jun
Now to talk about Prussian blue analogues! To begin I have to tell the story behind them because it is one of my favourite pieces of chemical history. It is a tale of alchemists, theologians, famous paintings and about 200 years of wondering what Prussian blue was.
It all began in Berlin in 1704 with an enterprising dye maker by the name of Heinrich Diesbach. He was most interested in producing a red dye by the name of Cochineal red lake. The ingredients were iron sulphate, potash and crushed up beetles #alchemy Image
But Diesbach was running low on potash. Enter the scene one Johann Conrad Dippel. Master theologian, physician, alchemist. Dippel was captured by the allure of alchemy and like any good alchemist began his attempts at transmuting gold. Image
Read 13 tweets
23 Jun
After our initial work on Li2MnO3, we discovered that there was a debate in the literature for a related compound. The more promising Li1.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13O2. It is the Li and Mn rich analogue to the Li[NiMnCo]O2 oxides used in commercial batteries.
What was this debate? It was whether the material existed as a solid solution or if it was an intergrowth or mix of Li2MnO3 and Li[NiMnCo]O2. Ie, if the composition crystallised as one or two phases. Here is an excerpt highlighting the debate pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/cm… Image
And here is what the two proposed models are. In the multi-phase model the hexagonal ordering occurs exclusively for Li and Mn whereas in the single phase Li in the transition metal layer can also have Ni and Co as nearest neighbours. Image
Read 10 tweets
22 Jun
We just got back from a group lunch/farewell to @ashok_menon12. I will use this opportunity to talk a little bit about what Ashok has done during his PhD. Ashok has worked with what is known as Li and Mn-rich layered oxides.
The Li and Mn rich oxide materials are interesting as they have the potential to store a lot more energy compared to regular battery cathodes. Image
The reason is due to the excess lithium which sits in the transition metal layer. The presence of Li in this layer creates local Li-O-Li bonding environments allowing of anionic redox due to unhybridised O orbitals. Below I show the regular LiCoO2 (yellow) and Li2MnO3 (purple). ImageImage
Read 8 tweets
22 Jun
Ok lets take a look through the @StructuralChem1 lab! Development of new technologies begins with synthesis of new materials. This synthesis is carried out in many of the fumehoods that we have available ImageImageImage
For synthesis of many ceramic materials we share a number of high temperature furnaces with other groups. Including tube furnaces for synthesis under various inert or reactive gases. ImageImageImage
Additionally, a lot of synthetic work takes place inside our gloveboxes which are filled with Argon. Many chemicals we use for battery research (like Li metal) are air or moisture sensitive and so well maintained gloveboxes are a must! ImageImage
Read 12 tweets

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