Summer Student Projects PSI Center for Energy and Environmental Sciences

In the following, you can find potential summer student projects of the PSI Center for Energy and Environmental Sciences.

We offer an internship of 3 to 6 months duration in the area of ion-conducting membranes for fuel cells or water electrolyzers. The student will be involved in ongoing research projects. The envisioned work may involve, depending on the background of the student:

• Preparation and/or modification of ion-conducting membranes
• Characterization of device-relevant membrane properties (e.g., conductivity, ion exchange capacity, water or electrolyte uptake)
• In situ characterization of membranes in the single cell (polarization curves, etc.)
• Durability studies in the cell using accelerated degradation protocols

The student will be involved in regular team meetings, group meetings and will give a presentation at the end of the internship on the achieved results. He/she will be supervised by a doctoral student, a postdoctoral research fellow, or a scientist.

Suitable candidates need to have practical experience of chemistry laboratory work. Knowledge of electrochemistry is helpful. The project is aimed at students of chemistry, chemical engineering and materials science. A good command of English is required.

Contact: Lorenz Gubler lorenz.gubler@psi.ch, Laboratory for Electrochemistry, Membranes and Electrochemical Cells

We offer a 3 to 4 month internship in the field of sodium-ion battery cathode materials. The student will work on advanced Na-cathode systems, including oxide and polyanionic compounds, and will be involved in ongoing research activities in the lab.
The envisioned work may involve, depending on the student’s background:

• Synthesis and surface modification of Na-Cathode materials, including fluorination-based coating methods
• Electrochemical testing in half-cell and full-cell configuration (Galvanstatic cycling, GITT, EIS, CV)
• Structural and morphological characterization techniques such as XRD, SEM
• Analysis of electrochemical behavior and degradation mechanisms

The student will present results at the end of the internship. Supervision will be provided by a Postdoctoral researcher.

Requirements: Practical laboratory experience in chemistry or materials science is expected. Knowledge of electrochemistry is advantageous. The position is aimed at students in chemistry, materials science, or chemical engineering. A good command of English is required.

Contact: Kriti Kriti kriti.kriti@psi.ch, Laboratory for Battery Science, Battery Materials and Diagnostics

We offer an internship of 3 to 6 months in the area of infrared spectroscopy. The student will map out the performance of a custom-build optics for Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transform Spectroscopy (DRIFTS) in a vacuum chamber. Specifically, the student will

• Assemble the optics and align it together with the IR spectrometer in a test rig. The aligned optics will be then installed in the vacuum chamber later without compromising the alignment
• Characterize the performance of the setup using various samples (materials with different scattering and absorption properties) prepared as layers of different thicknesses
• Determine the individual contributions of the retro-reflector and an infrared reflecting sample support
• Carry out in situ experiments with DRIFTS in existing setups in order to gain hands-on experience with the topic

The student will be involved in regular team meetings, group meetings and will give a presentation at the end of the internship on the achieved results. He/she will be supervised by a doctoral student, a postdoctoral research fellow, or a scientist.

Suitable candidates need to have practical experience with any kind of (optical) spectroscopy and work in a physics laboratory. The project is aimed at students of physics, chemistry, and materials science. A good command of English is required.

Contact: Ivo Alxneit ivo.alxneit@psi.ch, Laboratory for Sustainable Energy Carriers and Processes, Applied Catalysis and Spectroscopy

The demand for energy storage technology has revealed significant supply chain risks for critical materials used in currently dominant lithium ion batteries. To alleviate this stress on the global materials supply chains and create greener avenues for battery technology, we will be investigating alternative battery chemistries that can diversify the palette of available technologies. The intern will be working on alternative cationic and novel anionic battery systems, specifically focused on the design and characterization of novel insertion electrode materials. This project focuses on the design, synthesis, and characterization of novel electrode materials for ‘beyond lithium’ battery chemistries. The intern will gain hands-on experience in materials synthesis (e.g., hydrothermal and solid-state methods) and employ state-of-the-art characterization techniques, including powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). In addition, the intern will learn to evaluate electrochemical performance using battery cycling, potentiostatic/galvanostatic methods, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS).

Area of Study: Inorganic chemistry, Analytical chemistry, Materials science, Electrochemistry 

Necessary background and skills:

• Laboratory experience in synthetic inorganic and materials chemistry
• Basic understanding of electrical circuits and electrochemical concepts
• Familiarity with X-ray diffraction and structure refinement software
• Experience with microscopy techniques (nice to have) 

What you will learn:

• Electrochemical characterization (CV, EIS, GCD)
• Principles of battery cell design and performance evaluation
• Material design strategies and synthesis optimization
• Effective presentation and scientific communication

Contact: Sarbajit Banerjee sarbajit.banerjee@psi.ch, Laboratory for Battery Science, Battery Mechanisms & Materials Design