Dr Xeukun Lu’s paper, ‘Multiscale dynamics of charging and plating in graphite electrodes coupling operando microscopy and phase-field modelling’ has been included in Nature Communications’s top 25 Materials Science papers for 2023.

The study, led by Dr Lu, found a way to prevent lithium plating in electric vehicle batteries, which could lead to faster charging and safer electric cars.

“Assisted by a pioneering 3D battery model, we can capture when and where lithium plating initiates and how fast it grows. This is a significant breakthrough that could have a major impact on the future of electric vehicles”, said Dr Lu.

This isn’t the first time Dr Lu’s work has been included in the best-of-the-year list, as he was also in the top 50 in 2020 with his paper ‘3D microstructure design of lithium-ion battery electrodes assisted by X-ray nano-computed tomography and modelling’.