Li Linhao

Linhao Li received his PhD in 2017 from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Sheffield, where he worked under the supervision of Professor Derek C. Sinclair. After receiving his PhD, Linhao worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Nottingham and the University of Sheffield. Linhao's research focuses on the use of various electrical characterisation techniques, particularly impedance spectroscopy to investigate the 'electrical microstructure' and defect chemistry of electronic ceramics, with a particular focus on designing new materials through a better understanding of the component-structure-property relationship. Linhao has published many papers in several international journals, including Chem. Mater., J. Mater. Chem., Appl. Phys. Lett.

Ionic conductors: Ionic conductors refer to a class of materials that possess ionic (e.g., oxygen ions, lithium ions, etc.) conduction properties in the form of solid oxides, and are mainly used in electrochemical devices such as solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), solid oxide electrolytic cells (SOECs), and all-solid-state lithium-ion batteries. These materials have good ionic conductivity at high temperatures, making them suitable for high temperature electrolysis and energy conversion processes.

Thermoelectric ceramics: Thermoelectric ceramics make use of effects such as Seebeck to generate a voltage that can be utilised when there is a temperature difference at different locations in the material. They are now used in areas such as waste heat utilisation.

Dielectric Ceramics: The main characteristic of dielectric ceramics is that they exhibit excellent insulating properties in electric fields. They are widely used as insulating materials for capacitors in the electronics field, and dielectric ceramics with excellent polarisation properties are also used for energy storage.

Piezoelectric ceramics: Piezoelectric ceramics have the piezoelectric effect, that is, in the application of electric field can produce mechanical strain, and vice versa in the subjected to mechanical stress can be generated independently of the electric field. This property allows piezoelectric ceramics to be used in a wide range of applications such as piezoelectric sensors, acoustic devices, vibration actuators and piezoelectric transformers.

Cold sintering: By applying external pressure and adding a transient liquid phase to assist the sintering, cold sintering can densify the target material in a relatively short period of time (typically less than 1 hour) and at a low temperature (typically less than 300 oC). Cold sintering requires only 10-20% of the temperature of conventional solid-state sintering, significantly reducing the overall energy consumption and other requirements needed for production.