James A. Dawson

Understanding solid-state battery electrolytes using atomistic modelling and machine learning Nature Reviews Materials, Published online: 24 June 2025; doi:10.1038/s41578-025-00817-ySolid-state battery electrolytes offer the potential for enhanced safety, stability and energy density in both current and future technologies. This Review discusses the vital role that atomistic modelling and machine learning techniques continue to play in understanding and improving inorganic crystalline solid electrolytes for lithium-based and sodium-based batteries.

ICYMI: New online! Understanding solid-state battery electrolytes using atomistic modelling and machine learning

Understanding solid-state battery electrolytes using atomistic modelling and machine learning - Nature Reviews Materials Solid-state battery electrolytes offer the potential for enhanced safety, stability and energy density in both current and future technologies. This Review discusses the vital role that atomistic mode...

Delighted to finally see our review "Understanding solid-state battery electrolytes using atomistic modelling and machine learning" in @natrevmats.nature.com

This has been a long journey that begun when I was in Saiful Islam's group!

@chemistryncl.bsky.social

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

24-karat DNA: Integrating tunable electronically delocalized coordination chains into discrete DNA duplexes Biology’s information carrier, DNA, through its reliable synthesis, controllable length, and sequence-coded self-assembly, provides a unique capabilit…

*24-karat DNA: Integrating tunable electronically delocalized coordination chains into discrete DNA duplexes*

Really great to this nice @chemistryncl.bsky.social experimental-computational collaboration published in Chem! 🥇 🧬

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Search for Postgraduate Scholarships and Other Funding We know that how you fund your postgraduate studies is very important. Our funding database gets you to the information you need quickly.

I have a fully-funded #PhD #studentship #scholarship @nclengineering.bsky.social in #chemical #engineering focused on high #energy density #supercapacitors using novel materials #MXene #graphene #2Dmaterials. Apply before 30 June. Visit the link 👇 for details.
www.ncl.ac.uk/postgraduate...

FUSE Internships 2025 In the summer of 2025, the Faraday Undergraduate Summer Experience (FUSE) internship programme is providing 48 internships for undergraduate students to undertake paid-eight week placements with batte...

We are offering a paid internship for undergraduate students from a UK university under the @FaradayInst Fuse scheme for battery projects. Please check the link www.faraday.ac.uk/fuse-interns... and spread the word 🥼🧪🔋

@chemistryncl.bsky.social

www.faraday.ac.uk/fuse-interns...

Yesterday we said goodbye to Ana who is leaving us this week for better things at @oxfordphysics.bsky.social. Ana was the first PhD graduate from the group and will be sorely missed by all. I know she will do great at Oxford and in all her future endeavours! 🤩

Optimizing Li‐Ion Transport in LaCl3−xBrx Solid Electrolytes Through Anion Mixing Utilizing a composition optimization strategy based on halide mixing in LaCl3−xBrx solid electrolytes, we predict LaCl2.5Br0.5 to be a highly promising candidate for solid-state batteries because of ...

Our new paper on optimising Li-Ion transport in LaCl3−xBrx solid electrolytes. Congratulations to Xudong on his first publication! 🥳

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

@chemistryncl.bsky.social

🤘

Innovative Biopolymer Electrolytes with Enhanced Sodium-Ion Conductivity for Sustainable Battery Solutions (ReNU+24/EE/MCE/XING) at Northumbria University on FindAPhD.com PhD Project - Innovative Biopolymer Electrolytes with Enhanced Sodium-Ion Conductivity for Sustainable Battery Solutions (ReNU+24/EE/MCE/XING) at Northumbria University, listed on FindAPhD.com

New ReNU CDT-funded PhD position on the computational design of biopolymers electrolytes for Na-ion batteries. It will be co-supervised by Dr. Lu Xing at Northumbria and me 🔋

Retweets appreciated! findaphd.com/phds/project...

@chemistryncl.bsky.social

It was fantastic to be back at my alma mater, Keele Chemistry, this week as part of my @roysocchem.bsky.social lecture tour! Really great to catch up with a few people who taught me as an undergrad, as well as also meeting new staff 🐿️

Add me please

Today is my last working day as a NUAcT Fellow, meaning that I have been at @chemistryncl.bsky.social for 5 years! With the exception of the last 6 months, it has been an amazing experience and gone better than I ever expected. Massive thanks to all my wonderful group and colleagues for the support!

A nice early Christmas present!

Great simulations from Ying on the effect of pressure on structure and ion transport in Ba7Nb4MoO20.

@roysocchem.bsky.social @chemistryncl.bsky.social @oscarballantyne.bsky.social

pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...

Great dinner last night with some of the group to celebrate Ana’s viva success and Christmas 🎅🏼

@chemistryncl.bsky.social

Just had an idea

Innovative Biopolymer Electrolytes with Enhanced Sodium-Ion Conductivity for Sustainable Battery Solutions (ReNU+24/EE/MCE/XING) at Northumbria University on FindAPhD.com PhD Project - Innovative Biopolymer Electrolytes with Enhanced Sodium-Ion Conductivity for Sustainable Battery Solutions (ReNU+24/EE/MCE/XING) at Northumbria University, listed on FindAPhD.com

New PhD position on the computational design of biopolymers electrolytes for Na-ion batteries. It will be supervised by Dr. Lu Xing at Northumbria with co-supervision from Dr. Ioan Magdau and myself! 🔋

Reposts appreciated!

www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

@chemistryncl.bsky.social

Until next time @materials-mrs.bsky.social!

A real tour de force on the modelling of “messy” materials by James Quirk this morning! #f24mrs

Interested in anode-free batteries? Check out Juliane’s poster this evening #f24mrs

So happy for Ana, who is the first student to complete her PhD journey in my group! She has been the definition of a "model student" from start to finish. Thanks to @robajackson.bsky.social and Tom Penfold for examining. Massive congratulations Dr. Dutra! 🥂🥳

@chemistryncl.bsky.social

Boris Kozinsky dropped the microphone at #f24mrs with > 1 trillion atom molecular dynamics simulations for catalysis using > 30,000 GPUs. Based on machine learning force fields with github.com/mir-group/al... #CompChem

I did a PhD viva online today (for @jad5888.bsky.social), the first time I've done an online viva, and the technology worked OK. The student did very well, coping with having one examiner in the room & one on the screen! I would still prefer a face to face viva, but the cost savings are obvious

A list of my research group contributions to the Fall Meeting of the MRS

I’ve attended the Materials Research Society Fall Meeting for some time. First for buzzing conductive oxide symposia, then an era of overflowing halide perovskite rooms, and now I’m quite drawn to #AIforScience. Looking forward to placing my finger on the pulse of #f24mrs this week #ChemSky

Great to be back in Boston for the first time since my PhD! As a group, we have a talk and poster from James Quirk (solid-state batteries), two posters from Juliane Fiates (anode-free batteries) and a poster from Jemma Cox (argyrodite electrolytes).

@chemistryncl.bsky.social

Looks like another great MGMS Young Modellers Forum is in full swing today. Here are @finlayclark.bsky.social (Edinburgh Chemistry) & @asmaferiel.bsky.social (@chemistryncl.bsky.social) presenting their computer-aided drug design projects! #chemsky #compchemsky

Fong Lab

Many thanks to @karafong.bsky.social for visiting yesterday to present her fascinating work on "Ion Correlations in Li-Ion Battery Electrolytes via the Onsager Transport Framework"
fonglab.caltech.edu