Yukio Cho

Bio: Yukio Cho is a material chemist with a special focus on nanomaterials and electrochemical applications. He completed his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Materials Science at Tohoku University, Japan. There, under Prof. Hitoshi Takamura's mentorship, he synthesized and investigated novel cathode material for solid oxide fuel cells. Pursuing his PhD in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Yukio synthesized and developed a new molecular self-assembled nanomaterial showing remarkable stability and robustness. He demonstrated unique and groundbreaking applications such as recyclable batteries and one-dimensional nanocatalysts with this self-assembly platform, under the supervision of Prof. Julia Ortony and Prof. Yet-Ming Chiang. During his PhD program, Yukio was honored with the H.F. Taylor Fellowship, won the John Wolff Award for Excellence in Teaching, and received the MIT Sandbox Innovation Funding Award.

Postdoctoral research project: Harnessing the atomic-scale interfaces for next-generation solid-state lithium-sulfur batteries.  Transition to 100% renewable energy demands efficient and scalable energy storage technology, projecting a fivefold decrease in energy capacity costs. Elemental sulfur, a common industrial byproduct, combined with the shift from liquid to solid-state systems in the battery, holds promise in meeting these criteria. Despite its potential, solid-state sulfur batteries face issues like rapid degradation and limited charging rates. These issues are predominantly attributed to the interfaces between battery materials—nanoscale thin layers that are intricate and challenging to engineer. Yukio’s work will leverage bottom-up nanomaterial synthesis approaches to construct and control these atomic-scale interfaces, mirroring the way nature assembles nanostructures molecule by molecule. By designing these artificial interfaces with the desired composition and structure, Yukio aims to not only prevent degradation but also to boost redox kinetics, thereby overcoming significant obstacles and advancing the frontiers of next-generation energy storage technologies.

Research focus:  Energy Conversion & Storage - Batteries

Advisors:  Jagjit Nanda - SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory | Stacey Bent - Chemical Engineering

Education

Ph.D., Materials Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2023)M.E., Materials Science, Tohoku University (2018)B.S., Materials Science and Engineering, Tohoku University (2016)