Incorporating Electrochemistry and Battery Technology in an Undergraduate Materials Science Course

Electrochemical devices and systems are ubiquitous in many engineering disciplines, yet basic electrochemistry principles are rarely covered in the typical undergraduate engineering curriculum. This presents a barrier for young engineers aspiring to make contributions to this fast-growing field, as well as primary investigators in electrochemical engineering at undergraduate-only institutions. In the field of mechanical engineering, one of the oldest and arguably the broadest engineering disciplines, energy storage and conversion are covered in depth at the undergraduate level. However, electrochemical energy storage and conversion are only briefly glanced, if at all. As part of curriculum development in a new undergraduate mechanical engineering program, electrochemistry fundamentals, with a focus on applications to battery technology, were deliberately incorporated into a second-year materials science course. Undergraduate materials science courses typically focus on general process-structure-property relationships of different engineering materials, and this course is no different. Instead of covering only traditional materials, significant time is also devoted to battery materials, which are very relevant and poised for exponential growth in this era of electric vehicles and renewable energy storage. The course includes instruction on basic electrochemical principles, a survey of functional materials used in common electrochemical devices and their properties, as well as a short lab project where students are guided through the steps of constructing a simple coin-cell lithium-ion battery, arguably the most dominant of all battery chemistries. Classroom discussion also includes the environmental impacts of sourcing raw battery materials and end-of-life disposal practices, which, given current projections, will lead to a substantial sustainability problem as the battery market grows with electric vehicle uptake. Emerging battery technologies that seek to address the challenges of the current generation of batteries are also introduced. Students are also asked to give a short presentation after researching additional topics in the field that are of interest to them. Overall, the course aims to help modernize the undergraduate mechanical engineering curriculum by incorporating electrochemistry principles and battery technology into a core course.