Prof. Dr. Yan Lu: Developing new types of batteries sustainably
Since 2009, Yan Lu is a researcher at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin. In 2017, she became a professor at the University of Potsdam and at HZB. In addition to her work at the HZB, she is now also a professor at the University of Jena. © M. Setzpfandt / HZB
Yan Lu is appointed new Professor of Hybrid Materials for Electrochemical Energy Storage and Conversion at Friedrich Schiller University Jena together with HZB. Congratulations!
“Conventional lithium-ion batteries are very powerful, but also expensive, as they require metals such as nickel and cobalt in addition to lithium,” says chemist Prof Dr Yan Lu. “That’s why I’m researching more sustainable alternatives, such as lithium-sulphur batteries and batteries based on hybrid materials,” explains the 47-year-old scientist, who is working at Friedrich Schiller University Jena since this semester. Her work combines various areas of expertise: In order to make energy available electrochemically, she combines organic and inorganic chemistry, for example, and also draws on research methods from biochemistry.
As part of her joint appointment with Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB), where she continues to head the Institute for Electrochemical Energy Storage, the new professor is also co-director of the Helmholtz Institute for Polymers in Energy Applications Jena (HIPOLE Jena), which has been founded in 2023 in Jena by the university and HZB.
About Yan LuAfter studying chemistry in Shanghai, Yan Lu completed her doctorate at TU Dresden and then conducted research first in Bayreuth and from 2009 at the Helmholtz Centre Berlin. In 2017, she became a professor at the University of Potsdam and at HZB. In addition to her work at the Helmholtz Centre, she has also been Professor of Hybrid Materials for Electrochemical Energy Storage and Conversion at the University of Jena since the winter semester 2023/24.
- Porous Radical Organic framework improves lithium-sulphur batteriesA team led by Prof. Yan Lu, HZB, and Prof. Arne Thomas, Technical University of Berlin, has developed a material that enhances the capacity and stability of lithium-sulphur batteries. The material is based on polymers that form a framework with open pores (known as radical-cationic covalent organic frameworks or COFs). Catalytically accelerated reactions take place in these pores, firmly trapping polysulphides, which would shorten the battery life. Some of the experimental analyses were conducted at the BAMline at BESSY II.
- Metallic nanocatalysts: what really happens during catalysisUsing a combination of spectromicroscopy at BESSY II and microscopic analyses at DESY's NanoLab, a team has gained new insights into the chemical behaviour of nanocatalysts during catalysis. The nanoparticles consisted of a platinum core with a rhodium shell. This configuration allows a better understanding of structural changes in, for example, rhodium-platinum catalysts for emission control. The results show that under typical catalytic conditions, some of the rhodium in the shell can diffuse into the interior of the nanoparticles. However, most of it remains on the surface and oxidises. This process is strongly dependent on the surface orientation of the nanoparticle facets.
- KlarText Prize for Hanna TrzesniowskiThe chemist has been awarded the prestigious KlarText Prize for Science Communication by the Klaus Tschira Foundation.