Materials Science Division
Applied and Emerging Materials Group
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- Applied and Emerging Materials Group
Addressing critical materials challenges with expertise in materials science, electrochemistry, physics, inorganic chemistry, polymer chemistry, chemical engineering, biomedical engineering, nanomaterials, batteries, and aerogels.
Our group researches the synthesis, processing, and characterization of materials with novel properties. For example, we develop:
- Multifunctional materials
- Functional materials that are compatible with various additive manufacturing (3D printing) techniques
- Aerogels with novel composition and density combinations
- Tailored materials for battery applications
These projects support applications critical to the national interest, including energy security, defense, and addressing critical materials challenges. Our team also supports the Laboratory for Energy Applications for the Future.
Our mission: Perform leading-edge materials science and chemistry research to fill knowledge gaps and deliver technology products that serve crucial national needs.
Our vision: Maintain and expand an adaptive, state-of-the-art arsenal of materials research and expertise that integrates LLNL’s advanced synthesis, characterization, manufacturing, and high-performance computing capabilities to create the materials and technologies needed to address a variety of national concerns.
We address our mission space through capabilities in:
- Advanced synthesis and characterization of polymers, nanoparticles, composites, aerogels, and other porous materials
- Electrochemical testing in controlled environments, including extreme conditions
- Materials processing in controlled environments, including extreme conditions
- Development of feedstocks for additive manufacturing
- Integration with high-performance computer simulations and design optimization
- Novel processing of battery materials and pouch cell assembly/testing

In the news
Our research areas
Additive manufacturing: We develop materials for different additive manufacturing techniques, primarily polymers, polymer composites, ceramics, and carbon fiber reinforcement composites.
Materials characterization: We have capabilities in nanomaterials synthesis and broad materials characterization.
Energy storage: We develop advanced processing methods for next-generation battery materials and characterize their performance in coin cells and pouch cells.
Materials processing: Our ovens and dryers enable supercritical drying and high-temperature testing and processing of materials at up to 3000°C.

Our team
Our publications
Additively manufactured β-Ti5553 with laser powder bed fusion: microstructures and mechanical properties of bulk and lattice parts
Journal of Materials Processing Technology, 2024
M. Wu, M. Linne, J.B. Forien, N.R. Barton, J. Ye, K Hazeli, A. Perron, K. Bertsch, Y. M. Wang, T. Voisin
Charge-Programmable Photopolymers for 3D Electronics via Additive Manufacturing
Advanced Functional Materials, 2024
Z. Wang, J. Wang, Z. Xu, R. Hensleigh, H. Lu, M. Sowers, M. A. Worsley, Y. Rahmat-Samii, X. (R.) Zheng
First-principles evaluation of MnO2 polymorphs as cathode material in lithium-ion batteries
Sustainable Energy Fuels, 2024
W. Sun, C. A. Orme, M. A. Worsley, L. F. Wan
Particle-based simulations of electrophoretic deposition with adaptive physics models
Computer Physics Communications, 2024
J.J. Karnes, A.J. Pascall, C. Rehbock, V. Ramesh, M.A. Worsley, S. Barcikowski, E. Lee, B. Giera
Shape matters: Understanding the effect of electrode geometry on cell resistance and chemo-mechanical stress
arXiv, 2024
T.Y. Lin, H. Li, N.W. Brady, N.R. Cross, V.M. Ehlinger, T. Roy, D. Tortorelli, C. Orme, M.A. Worsley, G. Bucci
Topology Optimization for the Full-Cell Design of Porous Electrodes in Electrochemical Energy Storage Devices
arXiv, 2024
H. Li, G. Bucci, N. W. Brady, N. R. Cross, V. M. Ehlinger, T. Y. Lin, M. Salazar de Troya, D. Tortorelli, M. A. Worsley, T. Roy
Transforming nanoscale VO2(B) into a scalable sodium-ion electrode
Nano Research, 2024
Y. Luo, S. Chandrasekaran, B. Hu, R. Chen, M. Worsley, and B. Dunn
Unraveling the relationship between molecular properties and rapid diffusion in smooth nanopores
Biophysical Journal, 2024
S.F. Buchsbaum, S.J. Park, M.L. Jue, A.M. Sawvel, C. Chen, E. Meshot, M. Wood, K.J. Wu, C. Bilodeau, F. Aydin, T. A. Pham, E.Y. Lau, F. Fornasiero
3D-Printed Graded Electrode with Ultrahigh MnO2 Loading for Non-Aqueous Electrochemical Energy Storage
Advanced Energy Materials, 2023
D. Lin, S. Chandrasekaran, J.-B. Forien, X. Xue, A. Pinongcos, E. Coester, M. A. Worsley, Y. Li
Aerogels, additive manufacturing, and energy storage
Joule, 2023
S. Chandrasekaran, D. Lin, Y. Li, M. A. Worsley
Design and additive manufacturing of optimized electrodes for energy storage applications
Carbon, 2023
M. D. Reale Batista, S. Chandrasekaran, B. D. Moran, M. S. de Troya, A. Pinongcos, Z. Wang, R. Hensleigh, A. Carleton, M. Zeng, T. Roy, D. Lin, X. Xue, V. A. Beck, D. A. Tortorelli, M. Stadermann, R. Zheng, Y. Li, M. A. Worsley
Direct Ink Writing of 3D Zn Structures as High-Capacity Anodes for Rechargeable Alkaline Batteries
Small Structures, 2023
C. Zhu, N. B. Schorr, Z. Qi, B. R. Wygant, D. E. Turney, G. G. Yadav, M. A. Worsley, E. B. Duoss, S. Banerjee, E. D. Spoerke, A. van Buuren, T. N. Lambert
Growth and Performance of High-Quality SWCNT Forests on Inconel Foils as Lithium-Ion Battery Anodes
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2023
K. Moyer-Vanderburgh, M.C. Ma, S.J. Park, M.L. Jue, S.F. Buchsbaum, K.J. Wu, M. Wood, J. Ye, F. Fornasiero
Mechanical responses of architected boron carbide-aluminum lattice composites fabricated via reactive metallic infiltration of hierarchical pore structures
Materials Today Communications, 2023
J. Rivera, Q. Yang, C. G. Bustillos, S. Chandrasekaran, A. Wat, E. M. Sobalvarro, M. A. Worsley, A. J. Pascall, J. D. Kuntz
Nanocarbons: Diamond, Fullerene, Nanotube, Graphite, and Graphene Aerogels
Springer Handbook of Aerogels, 2023
S. Chandrasekaran, P. G. Campbell, T. F. Baumann, M. A. Worsley
Postprocessing
Springer Handbook of Aerogels, 2023
S. A. Steiner III, J. S. Griffin, R. T. Nelson, F. I. Hurwitz, M. A. Worsley
Recipes and Designs for Aerogels
Springer Handbook of Aerogels, 2023
S. A. Steiner III, A. M. Anderson, S. L. Brock, M. C. Buckwalter, M. K. Carroll, S. De Pooter, S. L. Downey, A. Eychmüller, M. Georgi, J. S. Griffin, M. D. W. Grogan, P. Gurikov, K. Hiekel, L. W. Hrubesh, K. Kanamori, B. Milow, R. T. Nelson, A. V. Rao, M. Schwan, K. L. Silva, M. A. Worsley, and S. Zhao
Tungsten doped diamond shells for record neutron yield inertial confinement fusion experiments at the National Ignition Facility
Nuclear Fusion, 2023
T. Braun, S.O. Kucheyev, S.J. Shin, Y.M. Wang, J. Ye, N.E. Teslich Jr, C.K. Saw, D.B. Bober, E.M. Sedillo, N.G. Rice, K. Sequoia, H. Huang, W. Requieron, A. Nikroo, D.D. Ho, S.W. Haan, A.V. Hamza, C. Wild and J. Biener
3D Printed Carbon Aerogels for Polymer-Electrolyte Fuel Cells
ECS Transactions, 2022
A. D. Santamaria, S. Chandrasekaran, O. Philbrick, M. A. Worsley
A Bioinspired Artificial Injury Response System Based on a Robust Polymer Memristor to Mimic a Sense of Pain, Sign of Injury, and Healing
Advanced Science, 2022
X. Xu, E. J. Cho, L. Bekker, A. A. Talin, E. Lee, A. J. Pascall, M. A. Worsley, J. Zhou, C. C. Cook, J. D. Kuntz, S. Cho, C. A. Orme
A new chemresistive NO2 sensing material: Hafnium diboride
Ceramics International, 2022
S. Zhao, Y. Xia, S. DelaCruz, A. Pan, Z. Li, Y. Shen, M. A. Worsley, C. Carraro, R. Maboudian
A review on additive manufacturing of refractory tungsten and tungsten alloys
Additive Manufacturing, 2022
A. Talignani, R. Seede, A. Whitt, S. Zheng, J. Ye, I. Karaman, M.M. Kirka, Y. Katoh, Y.M. Wang
Chemical recovery of spent copper powder in laser powder bed fusion
Additive Manufacturing, 2022
A. Speidel, L. Gargalis, J. Ye, M.J. Matthews, A. Spierings, R. Hague, A.T. Clare, J.W. Murray
CO2 Laser Sintering of Garnet-Type Solid-State Electrolytes
ACS Energy Letters, 2022
E. Ramos, A. Browar, J. Roehling, J. Ye
Effect of Gold Catalyst Surface Morphology on Wetting Behavior and Electrochemical CO2 Reduction Performance in a Large-Area Zero-Gap Gas Diffusion Electrolyzer
The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2022
Z. Qi, A.R. Kashi, A.K. Buckley, J.S. Miller, J. Ye, M.M. Biener, A.C. Foucher, E.A. Stach, S. Ma, K.P. Kuhl, J. Biener
Fast diffusive transport through carbon nanotube pores
Biophysical Journal, 2022
S.F. Buchsbaum, M.L. Jue, A.M. Sawvel, C. Chen, E.R. Meshot, S.J. Park, M. Wood, K.J. Wu, C.L. Bilodeau, F. Aydin, T.A. Pham, E.Y. Lau, F. Fornasiero
Growth and performance of high-quality SWCNT forests on Inconel foils as lithium-ion battery anodes
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2022
K. Moyer-Vanderburgh, M.C. Ma, S.J. Park, M.L. Jue, S.F. Buchsbaum, K.J. Wu, M. Wood, J. Ye, F. Fornasiero
Microstructural impacts on ionic conductivity of oxide solid electrolytes from a combined atomistic-mesoscale approach
npj Computational Materials, 2022
T.W. Heo, A. Grieder, B. Wang, M. Wood, T. Hsu, S.A. Akhade, L.F. Wan, L.Q. Chen, N. Adelstein, B.C. Wood
Noninvasive Detection, Tracking, and Characterization of Aerogel Implants Using Diagnostic Ultrasound
Polymers, 2022
S. Ghimire, M. Rodriguez Sala, S. Chandrasekaran, G. Raptopoulos, M. Worsley, P. Paraskevopoulou, N. Leventis, F. Sabri
Performance of Different Water-Based Binder Formulations for Ni-Rich Cathodes Evaluated in LiNi0. 8Mn0. 1Co0. 1O2//Graphite Pouch Cells
Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 2022
R. Sahore, M. Wood, A. Kukay, Z. Du, K.M. Livingston, D.L. Wood, J. Li
Pore and grain chemistry during sintering of garnet-type Li₆. ₄La₃Zr₁. ₄Ta₀. ₆O₁₂ solid-state electrolytes
J. Mater. Chem. A, 2022
J.A. Hammons, J.A. Espitia, E. Ramos, R. Shi, F. Meisenkothen, M. Wood, M.R. Ceron, J. Ye
Synthesis of nanograined zirconium diboride microsphere powder feedstock via emulsification of suspensions
Ceramics International, 2022
A. Wat, A. L. Hall, Q. R. (B.) Yang, R. Lu, E. Sobalvarro Converse, C. Ye, G. C.S. King, J. D. Kuntz, M. A. Worsley, J. T. Cahill, W. L. Du Frane
Three-Dimensional Printed MoS2/Graphene Aerogel Electrodes for Hydrogen Evolution Reactions
ACS Materials Au, 2022
S. Chandrasekaran, J. Feaster, J. Ynzunza, F. Li, X. Wang, A. J. Nelson, M. A. Worsley
Topology optimization for the design of porous electrodes
Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, 2022
T. Roy, M. A. Salazar de Troya, M. A. Worsley, V. A. Beck
Towards understanding particle rigid-body motion during solid-state sintering
Journal of the European Ceramic Society, 2022
R. Shi, M. Wood, T.W. Heo, B.C. Wood, J. Ye
Transparent Polyimide Aerogels: Controlled Porosity via Minimizing the Phase Separation
ACS Applied Polymer Materials, 2022
M.Y. Mettry, A.M. Lighty, J.A. Hammons, D.R. Malone, K.M. Bertsch, T.M. Fears
3D Printed Nickel–Molybdenum-Based Electrocatalysts for Hydrogen Evolution at Low Overpotentials in a Flow-Through Configuration
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2021
I. Sullivan, H. Zhang, C. Zhu, M. Wood, A.J. Nelson, S.E. Baker, C.M. Spadaccini, T. Van Buuren, M. Lin, E.B. Duoss, S. Liang, C. Xiang
Carbon aerogels with integrated engineered macroporous architectures for improved mass transport
Carbon, 2021
S. Chandrasekaran, J.B. Forien, P.G. Campbell, J.S. Oakdale, J.A. Mancini, M.A. Worsley, J. Biener
Computational Design of Microarchitected Flow-Through Electrodes for Energy Storage
Journal of Power Sources, 2021
V.A. Beck, J.J. Wong, C.F. Jekel, D.A. Tortorelli, S.E. Baker, E.B. Duoss, M.A. Worsley
Computational design of microarchitected porous electrodes for redox flow batteries
Journal of Power Sources, 2021
V. A. Beck, J. J. Wong, C. F. Jekel, D. A. Tortorelli, S. E. Baker, E. B. Duoss, M. A. Worsley
Correction to “On-Demand and Location Selective Particle Assembly via Electrophoretic Deposition for Fabricating Structures with Particleto-Particle Precision”
Langmuir, 2021
F. Qian, A.J. Pascall, M. Bora, T.Y.J. Han, S. Guo, S.S. Ly, M.A. Worsley, J.D. Kuntz, T.Y. Olson
Determining processing behaviour of pure Cu in laser powder bed fusion using direct micro-calorimetry
Journal of Materials Processing Technology, 2021
L. Gargalis, J. Ye, M. Strantza, A. Rubenchik, J.W. Murray, A.T. Clare, I.A. Ashcroft, R. Hague, M.J. Matthews
Enhanced mechanical performance via laser induced nanostructure formation in an additively manufactured lightweight aluminum alloy
Applied Materials Today, 2021
A.A. Martin, J.A. Hammons, H.B. Henderson, N.P. Calta, M.H. Nielsen, C.C. Cook, J. Ye, A.A. Maich, N.E. Teslich, T.T. Li, M.J. Thompson, M.F. Besser, M.J. Matthews, R.T. Ott, O. Rios, S.K. McCall, T.M. Willey, J.R.I. Lee
Enhanced neurite outgrowth on electrically conductive carbon aerogel substrates in the presence of an external electric field
Soft Matter, 2021
M.R. Sala, S. Chandrasekaran, O. Skalli, M. Worsley, F. Sabri
Engineering the architecture of 3D graphene-based macrostructures
Graphene-based 3D Macrostructures for Clean Energy and Environmental Applications, 2021
S. Chandrasekaran, M.R. Cerón, M.A. Worsley
Exploring the relationship between solvent-assisted ball milling, particle size, and sintering temperature in garnet-type solid electrolytes
Journal of Power Sources, 2021
M. Wood, X. Gao, R. Shi, T.W. Heo, J.A. Espitia, E.B. Duoss, B.C. Wood, J. Ye
Fast Permeation of Small Ions in Carbon Nanotubes
Advanced Science, 2021
S.F. Buchsbaum, M.L. Jue, A.M. Sawvel, C. Chen, E.R. Meshot, S.J. Park, M. Wood, K.J. Wu, C.L. Bilodeau, F. Aydin, T.A. Pham, E.Y. Lau, F. Fornasiero
Impact of secondary particle size and two-layer architectures on the high-rate performance of thick electrodes in lithium-ion battery pouch cells
Journal of Power Sources, 2021
M. Wood, J. Li, Z. Du, C. Daniel, A.R. Dunlop, B.J. Polzin, A.N. Jansen, G.K. Krumdick, D.L. Wood III
Inertially enhanced mass transport using 3D-printed porous flow-through electrodes with periodic lattice structures
PNAS, 2021
V. A. Beck, A. N. Ivanovskaya, S. Chandrasekaran, J.-B. Forien, S. E. Baker, E. B. Duoss, and M. A. Worsley
Modeling flow-based electrophoretic deposition for functionally graded materials
Materials & Design, 2021
M. A. Salazar de Troya, J. R. Morales, B. Giera, A. J. Pascall, M. A. Worsley, R. Landingham, W. L. Du Frane, J. D. Kuntz
One-Step Conversion of Graphite to Crinkled Boron Nitride Nanofoams for Hydrophobic Liquid Absorption
ACS Applied Nano Materials, 2021
T. Pham, S. Stonemeyer, J. Marquez, H. Long, S.M. Gilbert, M. Worsley, A. Zettl
Perspectives on the relationship between materials chemistry and roll-to-roll electrode manufacturing for high-energy lithium-ion batteries
Energy Storage Materials, 2021
D.L. Wood III, M. Wood, J. Li, Z. Du, R.E. Ruther, K.A. Hays, N. Muralidharan, L. Geng, C. Mao, I. Belharouak
Printing porous carbon aerogels for low temperature supercapacitors
Nano Letters, 2021
B. Yao, H. Peng, H. Zhang, J. Kang, C. Zhu, G. Delgado, D. Byrne, S. Faulkner, M. Freyman, X. Lu, M. A. Worsley, J. Q. Lu, Y. Li
Prussian blue as a co-catalyst for enhanced Cr (vi) photocatalytic reduction promoted by titania-based nanoparticles and aerogels
New Journal of Chemistry, 2021
E.P. Ferreira-Neto, S. Ullah, A.P. Perissinotto, F.S. de Vicente, S.J.L. Ribeiro, M. A. Worsley, U. Pereira Rodrigues-Filho
Refractive index matched polymeric and preceramic resins for height-scalable two-photon lithography
RSC advances, 2021
M. Mettry, M.A. Worthington, B. Au, J.B. Forien, S. Chandrasekaran, N.A. Heth, J.J. Schwartz, S. Liang, W. Smith, J. Biener, S.K. Saha, J.S. Oakdale
Towards understanding particle rigid-body motion during solid-state sintering
Journal of the European Ceramic Society, 2021
R. Shi, M. Wood, T.W. Heo, B.C. Wood, J. Ye
Ultra-low-density digitally architected carbon with a strutted tube-in-tube structure
Nature Materials, 2021
J. Ye, L. Liu, J. Oakdale, J. Lefebvre, S. Bhowmick, T. Voisin, J.D. Roehling, W.L. Smith, M.R. Cerón, J. van Ham, L.B.B. Aji, M.M. Biener, Y.M. Wang, P.R. Onck, J. Biener
2020 Vehicle Technology Office Annual Progress Report from Jianchao Ye (PDF)
Technical Report, 2020
J Ye
3D Flow Cell Simulation Via Accelerated Buffer Chemistry
Proceedings of the 2020 Virtual AIChE Annual Meeting: Catalysis and Reaction, 2020
T Moore, M Wood, J Feaster, T Lin, S Baker, E Duoss, V Beck
3D‐printed structure boosts the kinetics and intrinsic capacitance of pseudocapacitive graphene aerogels
Advanced Materials, 2020
B. Yao, S. Chandrasekaran, H. Zhang, A. Ma, J. Kang, L. Zhang, X. Lu, F. Qian, C. Zhu, E.B. Duoss, C.M. Spadaccini, M.A. Worsley, Y. Li
A 3D nm-thin biomimetic membrane for ultimate molecular separation
Materials Horizons, 2020
T. Wang, S. Liang, Z. Qi, M. Biener, T. Voisin, J.A. Hammons, I.C. Tran, M.A. Worsley, T. Braun, Y.M. Wang, J. Biener, T. Baumann, S. Kim, J. Ye
Additive manufacturing of graded B4C-Al cermets with complex shapes
Materials & Design, 2020
S. Chandrasekaran, R. Lu, R. Landingham, J.T. Cahill, L. Thornley, W. Du Frane, M. A. Worsley, J.D. Kuntz
Chemical stability and long-term cell performance of low-cobalt, Ni-Rich cathodes prepared by aqueous processing for high-energy Li-Ion batteries
Energy Storage Materials, 2020
M. Wood, J. Li, R.E. Ruther, Z. Du, E.C. Self, H.M. Meyer III, C. Daniel, I. Belharouak, D.L. Wood III
Correlating dynamic microstructure to observed color in electrophoretic displays via in situ small-angle x-ray scattering
Physical Review Materials, 2020
S.C. Bukosky, J.A. Hammons, B. Giera, E. Lee, J. Han, M.C. Freyman, A. Ivanovskaya, K.G. Krauter, J.D. Kuntz, M.A. Worsley, T.Y.J. Han, W.D. Ristenpart, A.J. Pascall
Heterogeneous kinetics of photoinduced cross-linking of silica nanoparticles with surface-tethered anthracenes
Chemical Physics Letters, 2020
S.H. Mostafavi, M. Mettry, A.D. Gill, C.J. Easley, R.J. Hooley, C.J. Bardeen
On the network topology of cross-linked acrylate photopolymers: a molecular dynamics case study
The Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 2020
J.J. Karnes, T.H. Weisgraber, J.S. Oakdale, M. Mettry, M. Shusteff, J. Biener
Periodic porous 3D electrodes mitigate gas bubble traffic during alkaline water electrolysis at high current densities
Advanced Energy Materials, 2020
T. Kou, S. Wang, R. Shi, T. Zhang, S. Chiovoloni, J.Q. Lu, W. Chen, M.A. Worsley, B.C. Wood, S.E. Baker, E.B. Duoss, R. Wu, C. Zhu, Y. Li
Perspectives on the relationship between materials chemistry and roll-to-roll electrode manufacturing for high-energy lithium-ion batteries
Energy Storage Materials, 2020
D.L. Wood III, M. Wood, J. Li, Z. Du, R.E. Ruther, K.A. Hays, N. Muralidharan, L. Geng, C. Mao, I. Belharouak
Transformation of boron nitride from cubic to hexagonal under 1-atm helium
Diamond and Related Materials, 2020
J.T. Cahill, W.L. Du Frane, C.K. Sio, G.C.S King, J.C. Soderlind, R. Lu, M.A. Worsley, J.D. Kuntz