Prof. Martin Z Bazant

Edwin G Roos (1944) Professor and Executive Officer of Chemical Engineering
Professor of Mathematics

Primary DLC

Department of Chemical Engineering

MIT Room: 66-352

Assistant

Osama Joseph-Irabor
ojirabor@mit.edu

Areas of Interest and Expertise

Transport Phenomena in Microfluidics and Electrochemical Systems
Energy Storage
Water Purification and Lab-on-a-Chip Technology
Nonlinear Electrokinetics
Super-Hydrophobic Surfaces and Super-Capacitors
Fuel Cells and Rechargeable Batteries
Applied Probability
Percolation/Statistical Physics
Computational Physics
Condensed Matter Physics
Partial Differential Equations

Research Summary

Professor Bazant is broadly interested in applied mathematics and engineering physics. Research focuses on transport phenomena in microfluidics and electrochemical systems, motivated by applications in energy storage, water purification, and lab-on-a-chip technology. Current topics include nonlinear electrokinetics, "shock" electrodialysis, electrodeposition, super-hydrophobic surfaces, super-capacitors, fuel cells, and rechargeable batteries. Bazant spent his first ten years on the faculty at MIT in the Department of Mathematics, where he led the Nonlinear Electrokinetics Group, Dry Fluids Laboratory, and Applied Mathematics Computational Laboratory. Bazant joined the Department of Chemical Engineering in December 2008, while retaining a joint appointment in Mathematics. His research now combines mathematical modeling with experiments. His group has students from Chemical Engineering, Mathematics, Physics, Mechanical Engineering, and Materials Science.


(summary updated 10/2012)

Recent Work

  • Video

    5.18.23-Energy-Bazant

    May 18, 2023Conference Video Duration: 46:29
    Learning the Physics of Li-ion Batteries from Images 

    Martin Bazant - 2018 RD Conference

    November 21, 2018Conference Video Duration: 38:20

    Control of Phase Transformations in Rechargeable Batteries

    The rapid, stable cycling of rechargeable batteries requires well-controlled phase transformations of the redox active materials in each electrode, between the charged and discharged states. In Li-ion batteries, common intercalation materials, such as graphite and iron phosphate, undergo phase separation (into Li-rich and Li-poor phases), which limits the power density and causes degradation. A general mathematical theory, supported by recent x-ray imaging experiments, will be presented that shows how phase separation can be controlled by electro-autocatalytic reactions. For Li-metal batteries, theoretical and experimental results will be presented for the stability of lithium electrodeposition, controlled by electrokinetic phenomena in charged porous separators.

    2018 MIT Research and Development Conference