The quest for cheap, safe rechargeable battery energizes WVU graduate

Xiujuan Chen’s research work at WVU focuses on zinc-ion batteries, which are promising alternatives to lithium-ion batteries. Her work could pave the way to safe, cheap rechargeable batteries for phones, cars and much more. (WVU Photo/Maddy Watson)

Developing a new kind of rechargeable battery — zinc-ion batteries, a cheaper, safer alternative to today’s lithium-ion batteries — is the goal of Xiujuan Chen.

Story by Micaela Morrissette, WVU Research Office
Photos by Maddy Watson

Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

Zinc-ion batteries have the potential to store energy for the electric grid or to power objects big and small, from electric cars to portable electronics. But this technology is still in development, with major hurdles to surmount before commercialization.

As a West Virginia University graduate student and postdoctoral fellow, Chen contributed to clearing those hurdles.

Chen remembers first stepping foot in Morgantown. It was a much smaller city than she was used to and she wasn’t sure if she was where she was meant to be.

So Chen and her husband drove the back roads and got acquainted with the countryside and small towns in Monongalia County and beyond.

“I wanted to know what life is like for real West Virginians,” Chen said. “Almost every weekend, we’d take day trips and explore. It’s beautiful here, and with so much peace and quiet, it’s a great place for research. I came to know the area and I decided to stay.”

In 2016, Chen began her academic journey at WVU. She earned her master’s degree in 2017 with a thesis on wastewater treatment, then shifted her attention to zinc-ion batteries for her doctoral research.

She earned her doctoral degree in 2021 and, in 2022, became a postdoctoral research fellow with the Department of Mechanical, Materials and Aerospace Engineering at the WVU Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources.

Chen began learning about rechargeable battery technology at the prompting of Statler College Chair of Engineering Xingbo Liu. 

“Dr. Liu came to my office and asked if I wanted to try working on zinc-based batteries. I didn’t even know what that was — I’d never worked on batteries. I asked him, ‘Do you think I can do it?’ He said, ‘Look, before you joined this group, you knew nothing about water treatment, and now you do that very well. I think you can handle the challenge.’ That gave me confidence and after thinking it over, I decided, ‘OK. I believe I can handle this challenge.’

“The most important thing my colleagues at WVU gave me is encouragement, the confidence to explore new fields and believe in my potential to contribute meaningfully beyond my initial expertise.”

Lithium is used in today’s rechargeable batteries because of its high-energy density, allowing it to store a significant amount of power in a small space. However, lithium is relatively rare and therefore expensive, Chen said.

“Lithium-ion batteries also pose a risk of fire because of the flammable electrolyte and the nature of lithium itself. You definitely don’t want your phone exploding in your pocket or your electric vehicle catching fire. Zinc is a strong alternative because it’s safe, and it’s very low-cost and particularly suitable for large-scale energy storage applications. We have abundant zinc resources and zinc is easily recyclable.”

However, the energy density of zinc-ion batteries is currently lower than that of lithium-ion batteries. Another challenge is stability — the battery’s ability to stand up to long-term operation. Those issues have to be addressed before zinc-ion battery technology can meet the practical requirements for widespread application, Chen said.

Her research is focused on addressing these issues by developing high-performance zinc-ion batteries with improved cathode materials and stabilized zinc anodes — the battery’s positive and negative electrodes.

“The real question is always how to get to the real-world application,” Chen said. “It is essential to figure out the critical problem standing between research and commercialization.”

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