Heather A. S. Platt Email & Phone Number

Golden, Co, Us

Golden, Co, Us

Golden, Co, Us

Littleton, Colorado, Us

Louisville, Colorado, Us

• Led a team that developed a cathode capable of 500+ Wh/kg in a solid state battery.• Utilized lock-in thermography to identify short circuit failures through solid electrolytes.• Led the exploration of low cost, beaker-based methods to synthesize metal sulfide powders. Utilized x-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry throughout the effort.• Invented a sulfide binder for use in coated layers for solid state batteries.• Developed metal sulfide cathode and solid state electrolyte slurries and coated via doctor blade. Incorporated these layers into solid state coin cells with Li metal or In-Li alloy anodes, and 50 mAh pouch cells with Li metal anodes.• Served as the technical lead for a Department of Energy Phase II technology transfer program, and contributed to multiple Department of Energy and Department of Defense proposals and projects.

Golden, Co, Us

• Confirmed that an industrial partner’s proprietary additive extended the cycle life of LiCoO2-based coin cells with Li metal anodes.• Established a correlation between low calculated anion/radical binding energy and high half cell capacity for the organic radical active material poly(2,2,6,6-tetramethylpeperidinyloxy-4-ylmethacrylate) (PTMA). Utilized cyclic voltammetry and AC impedance to determine how the resistance of the electrode changed with anion and state of charge.• Demonstrated reversibility for magnesium ions in a PTMA-based half cell.• Integrated < 50 μm wide printed silver grid lines into organic photovoltaic cells to act as contacts and minimize shadowing of the active region of the cell.• Integrated printed aluminum back contacts into Si wafer solar cells and optimized the contactgeometry to balance print time with efficient, low resistance current collection.• Applied principles from Lore's “Proposing to Win” workshop in contributions to multiple proposals.

Corvallis, Or, Us

Synthetic Solid State Chemistry• Synthesized many ternary metal oxide, sulde, selenide, and telluride powders using evacuated ampule or owing gas techniques.• Synthesized and identified Fe2GeS4 and Fe2SiS4 as promising solar absorbers based on experimental optical band gaps of 1.5 eV and calculated absorption coefficients of 10^5 cm^−1.• Prepared the wide band gap p-type materials BaCuSF, BaCuSeF, and BaCuTeF as powders and targets to enable pulsed laser deposition of thin films. The chemical inactivity and appropriate electronic band bending at the interface of the selenide with ZnTe or Zn pthalocyanine demonstrated that BaCuSeF is a promising contact material for solar cells.• Estimated optical band gaps of powders using diffuse reflectance. • Prepared pellets to determine Seebeck coefficients and measure electrical resistivity in collinear and van der Pauw geometries.• Utilized x-ray diraction, electron probe microanalysis, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and Hall measurements to evaluate thin film crystal structure, stoichiometry, morphology, and electrical properties.• Built and maintained a corrosion-resistant manifold to pass H2S(g) and H2Se(g) through a tube furnace to react with thin films and powders.Solution Processing• Spin coated aqueous inks and reacted the resulting thin films with H2S(g) to form morphologically dense, 100 nm thick FeS2 pyrite films with absorption coefficients of 10^5 cm^-1. Teaching and Mentoring• Mentored 5 undergraduate students in inorganic materials chemistry techniques.• Led recitations for general chemistry students.

Lemont, Il, Us

• Prepared macroporous Ni metal structures via decomposition of Ni acetate in a polystyrene template, and plated Sn metal onto the Ni framework by using an electrodeless aqueous process. Such open structures with high surface area have great potential as electrode materials for lithium ion batteries.• Synthesized LiFePO4, LiCoPO4, and LiMnPO4 powders. Prepared and tested coin cells incorporating these powders as cathodes.

Ms & Phd, Inorganic Materials Chemistry

Bs, Chemistry