New types of nanostructures have shown promise for applications in electrochemically powered energy devices and systems, including advanced battery technologies. One process for making these nanostructures is dealloying, in which one or more elemental components of an alloy are selectively leached out of materials. Arizona State University researchers Karl Sieradzki and Qing Chen have been experimenting with dealloying lithium-tin alloys, and seeing the potential for the nanostructures they are producing to spark advances in lithium-ion batteries, as well as in expanding the range of methods for creating new nanoporous materials using the dealloying process. Their research results are detailed in a paper they co-authored that was recently published on the website of the prominent science and engineering journal Nature Materials (Advance online publication). Read the article abstract. Sieradzki is a materials scientist and professor in the School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy, one of ASU’s Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. Chen earned his doctoral degree in materials science at ASU last spring and is now a postdoctoral research assistant. Nanoporous materials made by dealloying are comprised of nanometer-scale zigzag holes and metal. These structures have found application in catalysis (used to increase the rate of chemical reactions), as

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