Graeber Lab for Energy Research
Welcome to the Graeber Lab for Energy Research!
We perform research at the intersection of thermodynamics, functional materials and electrochemistry to enhance the performance of energy conversion processes. Our work aims at unleashing the full potential of alkali-metal anodes for battery applications, designing hygroscopic hydrogels for thermo-adsorptive energy storage and using interfacial thermodynamics to control phase change and wetting phenomena.
News
November 15, 2024 - Robert Valeske joins the group
We are very happy that Robert joined the group as an undergraduate student. He is currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in production engineering at University of Bremen. Welcome, Robert!
October 17, 2024 - New publication
With his co-authors Carlos D. Díaz-Marín, Lorenzo Masetti, Miles A. Roper, Kezia E. Hector, Yang Zhong, Zhengmao Lu, Omer R. Caylan and Jeffrey C. Grossman, Gustav published a work on “Physics-based prediction of moisture-capture properties of hydrogels” in Nature Communications. Link: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-53291-5
October 1, 2024 - Andrea Cornelio joins the group
We are very happy that Andrea joined the group as a doctoral student. He earned a B.Sc. and an M.Sc. degree in Energy Engineering from Politecnico di Milano (Italy), with two international exchanges in INSA Lyon (France) and Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden). He will work on a shared project between Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM) and GER on NASICON solid electrolytes and safety for Na-ion batteries.
September 26, 2024 - Bachelor defense of Maria
Maria did a great job in defending her Bachelor's thesis about “Fabrication of thin hydrogel layers and their application as sodium-ion-electrolytes". Congratulations, Maira, for the successful defense, and thank you for your contributions to the lab in the past six months!
September 25, 2024 - Sodium Battery Symposium 5
Together with Philipp Adelhelm and his team, we organized the 5th Sodium Battery Symposium. We would like to thank all participants, invited speakers, and everyone who helped organize and make SBS5 a success! We are proud to see that the event has grown to more than 300 participants and look forward to the coming years of SBS!
September 19, 2024 - Best poster awards at E-MRS Fall Meeting in Poland
This week, Gustav, Naiyu, and Johannes attended the European Materials Research Society (EMRS) Fall Meeting at the Warsaw University of Technology, Poland. It was an excellent opportunity to present our work on “Wetting engineering of alkali metals towards high-performance anode-less batteries“ and discuss our research with researchers worldwide. Naiyu and Johannes received the best poster awards for their work. Congratulations, Naiyu and Johannes!
September 2, 2024 - Dr. Dawid Kasprzak joins the group!
We are very happy that Dawid joined the group as a postdoctoral research fellow. He holds a faculty position as an Assistant Professor at the Poznan University of Technology, Poland. He completed postdoctoral appointments at the University of Chemistry and Technology, Czech and the University of British Columbia, Canada. He will investigate high-performance alkali-metal batteries as part of the BattFutur ANaBatt project. Welcome, Dawid!
August 28, 2024 - Final presentation of Lucy, Daniela, and Rachana
Recently, our summer intern Lucy, Daniela, and Rachana gave their final presentation on “Hydrogels, Salts and Swelling Effects“, “Paste-Like Alkali Interlayer for Solid-State Sodium Batteries“, and “Surface Tensiometry of Liquid Alkali Metals“. Thanks for your outstanding contribution to the lab over the past three months. We wish you all the best in your future career!
August 19, 2024 - New publication
With his co-authors Tu Lan, Enea Svaluto-Ferro, Natalia Kovalska, Fabrizio Vagliani, Diego Basso, Alberto Turconi, Malgorzata Makowska, Gurdial Blugan, Corsin Battaglia, and Meike V F Heinz, Gustav published a work on “Scaling of Planar Sodium-Nickel Chloride Battery Cells to 90 cm2 Active Area” in Batteries & Supercaps. Link: https://doi.org/10.1002/batt.202400447
July 29, 2024 - Daniela Kreysina joins the group!
We are very happy that Daniela joined the group as an undergraduate student. She is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry at the Humboldt University of Berlin. Welcome, Daniela!
July 23, 2024 - Final presentation of Paul
Last Friday Paul held his final presentation of his research stay with us. During his time here, he focussed on measuring the conductivity of various hydrogel formulations and substantially improving the measurement techniques. Thanks for your outstanding contribution to the lab over the past four months. We wish you all the best in your future career!
July 22, 2024 - Colloquium "Characterization of Nanomaterials"
Last week Johannes and Gustav attended the colloquium "Characterization of Nanomaterials" hosted by the group of Dr. Ievgen Donskyi at Freie Universität Berlin. In addition to learning about fascinating topics in the realms of new materials for viral inhibition, and various other topics, this was also an opportunity to introduce our research to a curious audience. Thanks for hosting this colloquium Ievgen!
June 26, 2024 - New publication
With his co-authors Xiangyu Li, Bachir El Fil, Buxuan Li, Adela C. Li, Yang Zhong, Mohammed Alshrah, Chad T. Wilson and Emily Lin, Gustav published a work on “Design of a Compact Multicyclic High-Performance Atmospheric Water Harvester for Arid Environments” in ACS Energy Letters. Link: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsenergylett.4c01061
June 17, 2024 - Rachana Somaskandan joins the group!
We are very happy that Rachana joined the group as a research intern through the DAAD RISE Program.She is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering through Northeastern University. Welcome, Rachana!
June 3, 2024 - Daniela Montes Alarcon joins the group!
We are very happy that Daniela joined the group as a research intern through the Humboldt Internship Program. She is currently studying chemistry at Wellesley College. Welcome, Daniela!
June 3, 2024 - Lucy Kanias joins the group!
We are very happy that Lucy joined the group as a research intern through the MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI). She is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Welcome, Lucy!
May 4, 2024 - Beam time at DESY in Hamburg
In the past days, we had our very first beam time at DESY in Hamburg. We used X-ray computed tomography to explore wetting phenomena of alkali metals in porous host structures towards high-performance alkali-metal batteries. Thanks to Julian Moosmann, Felix Beckmann, André Hilger and Markus Osenberg for your support.
April 26, 2024 - Girls'Day 2024 in our lab
Today, we hosted three girls from local schools and gave them a hands-on introduction to our research on alkali-metal batteries. Thanks to Chiara and Maria for running the show and doing such a great job!
April 18, 2024 - Master defense of Phillip Nitz
Phillip did a great job in defending his Master's thesis about "Polyacylamide hydrogel electrolytes for sodium-ion batteries". Congratulations, Phil, for the successful defense and thank you for your contributions to the lab in the past six months!
April 15, 2024 - Maria Geidel joins the group!
We are very happy that Maria joined the group as an undergraduate student. She is studying chemistry at the Humboldt University of Berlin. She will work on the integration of hydrogels in electrochemical processes and a technique to coat materials with hydrogels. Welcome, Maria!
April 3, 2024 - Nano Letters cover image
Our recent work on "Intrinsic Water Transport in Moisture-Capturing Hydrogels" is on the cover of Nano Letters! This Microscopy image obtained via cross-polarization shows spontaneous crystal formation in a salt solution. Image credit: G. Graeber and C. Spedalieri.
March 25, 2024 - Paul Rosaz joins the group!
We are very happy that Paul has joined the group as a research intern. Currently, he is completing his engineering degree in Energy and Physics at the École Polytechnique, in France. Welcome, Paul!
March 17, 2024 - New publication
Today, the first work of our group on “Sustainable, Low-Cost Sorbents Based on Calcium Chloride-Loaded Polyacrylamide Hydrogels“ has been published in Advanced Functional Materials. Link: https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202314680 Congratulations to our first-authors Levi and Mauricio!
March 4, 2024 - Chiara Morini joins the group!
We are very happy that Chiara joined the group as a doctoral student. Chiara earned her B.Sc. from La Sapienza University of Rome (Italy) and her M.Sc. from Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna (Italy). She will investigate high-performance alkali-metal batteries as part of the BattFutur ANaBatt project. Welcome, Chiara!
March 4, 2024 - New publication
With his co-authors Carlos D. Díaz-Marín, Leon C. Gaugler, and Bachir El Fil, Gustav published a work on “Intrinsic Water Transport in Moisture-Capturing Hydrogels” in Nano Letters. Link: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.nanolett.3c04191
February 5, 2024 - Announcing the Sodium Battery Symposium 5
Together with Philipp Adelhelm, we are organizing the 5th Sodium Battery Symposium. It will be held in Berlin from September 23 to 25, 2024. The conference will focus on all aspects of Na batteries and will combine presentations from leading scientists and companies. https://www.helmholtz-berlin.de/events/international-sodium-battery-symposium/index_en.html
September 5, 2023 - Sodium Battery Symposium 4
This week, Gustav and Arndt attended the Sodium Battery Symposium 4 (SBS4) at Fraunhofer IKTS in Dresden. It was an excellent opportunity to introduce our group to the sodium battery community and discuss our research on wetting strategies for high-performance alkali-metal batteries. Arndt received the best poster award for his work with his team at Empa. Congratulations, Arndt!
September 1, 2023 - Prof. Dr. Corsin Battaglia came to visit us
Today, Prof. Dr. Corsin Battaglia, from the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) and ETH Zürich, came to visit our lab at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin to give a talk about "Innovating the batteries of the future". Thank you, Corsin, for sharing your impressive work with us!
August 31, 2023 - Funding
The Graeber Lab for Energy Research receives funding from the Fonds der Chemischen Industrie (FCI) through the funding scheme “Material Cost Allowances“ to promote research in energy conversion technologies. The funding starts on August 1, 2023 with a duration of three years.
August 30, 2023 - Final presentation of Levi and Mauricio
Today, Levi and Mauricio gave their final presentation on “Sustainable high-performance sorbents based on polyacrylamide hydrogels“. Thanks for your outstanding contribution to the lab over the past three months. We wish you all the best in your future career!
August 9, 2023 - Phillip Nitz joins the group!
We are very happy that Phillip joined the group as a master thesis student. Currently, Phillip is pursuing a master’s degree in Chemistry at the Humboldt University of Berlin, where he has successfully obtained his bachelor’s degree. Welcome, Phillip!
July 3, 2023 - Prof. Dr. Thomas Schutzius came to visit us
Today, Prof. Dr. Thomas Schutzius, from University of California, Berkeley, came to visit our lab at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin to give a talk about "Nanoengineering Thermofluidics for Global Energy and Water Challenges". Thank you, Tom, for sharing your fascinating work with us!
June 16, 2023 - Mauricio Huertas joins the group
We are very happy that Mauricio joined the group via the Humboldt Internship Program. Currently, Mauricio is pursuing an Erasmus Master's Program in Excellence in Analytical Chemistry at the University of Tartu in Estonia and the University of Claude Bernard Lyon 1 in France. Welcome, Mauricio!
June 15, 2023 - MIT News
Gustav’s recent work with his co-authors C. D. Díaz-Marín, L. C. Gaugler, Y. Zhong, B. El Fil, X. Liu and E. N. Wang, on “Extreme Water Uptake of Hygroscopic Hydrogels Through Maximized Swelling-Induced Salt Loading,” published in Advanced Materials, got covered in MIT NEWS. Link: https://news.mit.edu/2023/salty-gel-could-harvest-water-desert-air-0615
June 14, 2023 - Levi Hoogendoorn joins the group
We are very happy that Levi has joined the group for her DAAD RISE summer research internship. Currently, Levi is a third-year undergraduate student at Northwestern University, where she is pursuing degrees in Materials Science, Mathematics, and the Integrated Science Program. Welcome, Levi!
June 1, 2023 - Johannes Baller joins the group
We are very happy that Johannes has joined the group as a doctoral student. Johannes earned both his B.Sc. and his M.Sc. degree in materials science from RWTH Aachen University. He will investigate wetting phenomena of alkali metals for battery applications as part of the BattFutur ANaBatt project. Welcome, Johannes!
May 22, 2023 - New publication
With his co-authors C. D. Díaz-Marín, L. C. Gaugler, Y. Zhong, B. El Fil, X. Liu and E. N. Wang, Gustav published a work on “Extreme Water Uptake of Hygroscopic Hydrogels Through Maximized Swelling-Induced Salt Loading” in Advanced Materials. Link: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/adma.202211783
May 16, 2023 - Nature Physics cover image
Our recent work on "Freezing-induced wetting transitions on superhydrophobic surfaces" is on the cover of nature physics! The image shows a bottom-view micrograph of a water droplet resting on a transparent micropillar surface undergoing recalescence freezing and expulsion. Image by H. Lambley and G. Graeber. Cover Design: Amie Fernandez.
May 2, 2023 - Naiyu Qi joins the group
We are very happy that Naiyu has joined the group as a doctoral student. Naiyu earned his B.Sc. degree in polymer materials and engineering from Jilin University (China) and M.Sc. in materials science and simulation from Ruhr University Bochum (RUB). He will investigate wetting phenomena of alkali metals for battery applications as part of the BattFutur ANaBatt project. Welcome, Naiyu!
May 2, 2023 - New publication
With his co-authors T. Lan, L. Sieuw, E. Svaluto-Ferro, F. Vagliani, D. Basso, A. Turconi, C. Battaglia and M. V. F. Heinz, Gustav published a work on “Planar Sodium-Nickel Chloride Batteries with High Areal Capacity for Sustainable Energy Storage” in Advanced Functional Materials. Link: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adfm.202302040
April 1, 2023 - PD Dr. Arndt Remhof joins the group
We are very happy that Arndt has joined the group. Arndt is a group leader at Empa (Switzerland) in the Laboratory for Energy Conversion, where his current research focus lies on the development of novel ionic conductors for the application in all solid-state batteries. He joins the GER for a six-month Sabbatical leave from Empa. Welcome, Arndt!
March 1, 2023 - Official start of the GER at HU Berlin
Today, the Graeber Lab for Energy Research (GER) officially starts operation at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. The GER is part of the Department of Chemistry in the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. We thank Prof. Philipp Adelhelm for serving as a mentor for our group, and Prof. Christoph Arenz, Head of the Department, for allowing us to join the Department of Chemistry.
February 12, 2023 - New publication
With his co-authors H. Lambley, R. Vogt, L. C. Gaugler, E. Baumann, T. M. Schutzius and D. Poulikakos, Gustav published a work on “Freezing-induced wetting transitions on superhydrophobic surfaces” in Nature Physics. Link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41567-023-01946-3
January 7, 2023 - Funding
The Graeber Lab for Energy Research receives funding from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) through the funding scheme “BattFutur - Nachwuchsgruppen Batterieforschung“ to develop wetting strategies for sustainable alkali-metal batteries. The project starts on March 1, 2023 with a duration of five years.
Join the team.
We have openings for postdocs, doctoral students and student research assistants. We offer exciting topics for Bachelor thesis, Master thesis and research internships. Please reach out for details.