about us
The Butala Research Group addresses fundamental research questions at the intersection of solid state chemistry and materials science, especially relationships between atomic structure, composition, and functional properties for energy storage and electronics.
Our interdisciplinary team of graduate and undergraduate researchers bring enthusiasm and exciting ideas to this pursuit!
research interests
We focus on establishing new understanding of fundamental relationships between atomic structure, composition, and properties, especially for inorganic materials for energy storage and electronic applications. Of particular interest are unconventional battery materials with compositions, structural features—or both—that vary significantly from commercial electrode materials, for which there is not yet a strong understanding of ion and electron transport.
Our work spans the solid state chemistry and battery communities, with an emphasis synthesis, battery testing, and especially atomic structure characterization. The group is also growing to bridge additional communities in which atomic structure understanding is critical to functionality, e.g. magnetic and electronic materials for memory storage and computing applications.
the lab
Our experimental solid state materials chemistry lab has furnaces, an argon glovebox, potentiostats, and hood space for making and cycling materials.
