The Advanced Materials and Electrochemistry for Energy (AMEE) Laboratory at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), led by Dr. Özgür Çapraz, specializes in experimental characterization of electrochemical and chemo-mechanical processes in materials and interfaces.
Our laboratory develops and applies complementary operando techniques to measure stress evolution, mechanical deformation, and interfacial mass and viscoelastic responses during electrochemical processes. These capabilities enable us to investigate reaction mechanisms, phase transformations, interfacial evolution, and materials degradation under operating conditions.
Our three principal experimental capabilities are multi-beam optical stress sensing (MOSS), digital image correlation (DIC), and quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D).
1. Operando Stress Measurements (MOSS)
Multi-Beam Optical Stress Sensing
Electrochemical reactions can generate mechanical stress in electrodes and interfacial layers through ion insertion, electrodeposition, surface reactions, and structural transformations. Measuring stress evolution during electrochemical operation provides valuable insights into these processes.
Our laboratory employs multi-beam optical stress sensing (MOSS) to monitor changes in the curvature of electrode-substrate systems during electrochemical reactions. Under appropriate mechanical assumptions (e.g. Stoney’s equation), the curvature measurements can be related to the evolution of stress-thickness in the electrode or film.
By correlating mechanical responses with electrochemical potential, current, and charge, we investigate the relationships between electrochemical reaction pathways and mechanical stress generation.
Scientific Applications:
- Stress evolution during electrochemical cycling
- Ion intercalation and deintercalation
- Electrodeposition and metal dissolution
- Electrode-electrolyte interfacial reactions
- Surface adsorption and electrochemical polarization
- Corrosion and anodic oxide formation
- Electrochemical critical mineral recovery
Representative Publications:
- B. Bal, B. Ozdogru, M. Wable, V. Murugesan, G. M. Veith, and Ö. Ö. Çapraz, “Chemo-Mechanical Instabilities in Lithium Cobalt Oxide at Higher State-of-Charge in Li-Ion Batteries,” Electrochimica Acta, 508, 145223 (2024). View Publication
- N. P. Holzapfel, S. Saeed, A. Ferris, R. Wang, N. C. Osti, E. Mamontov, B. Marckx, Ö. Ö. Çapraz, and V. Augustyn, “Evidencing Fast and Reversible Proton Insertion of a Metastable Bilayered Tungsten Oxide,” Chemistry of Materials, Accepted (2026). View Publication
- H. Dykes, S. H. Akella, B. Ozdogru, D. Sharon, M. Noked, and Ö. Ö. Çapraz, “Probing Interfacial Stress on Au Cathode in DMSO Electrolyte during Electrochemical Polarization in Aprotic Li-O2 Batteries,” Electrochimica Acta, 497, 144522 (2024). View Publication
- Ö. Ö. Çapraz, P. Shrotriya, and K. R. Hebert, “Measurements of Stress Changes During Growth and Dissolution of Anodic Oxide Films on Aluminum,” Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 161, D256 (2014). View Publication
2. Operando Strain Measurements (DIC)
Digital Image Correlation
Electrochemical reactions can produce reversible and irreversible mechanical deformation in electrode materials. Understanding these changes is essential for identifying mechanical instabilities and degradation mechanisms in electrochemical systems.
Our laboratory employs digital image correlation (DIC), an optical imaging-based technique, to measure surface displacement and spatially resolved in-plane strain fields during electrochemical cycling.
Operando DIC enables us to monitor electrode expansion and contraction, identify nonuniform deformation, and correlate mechanical responses with electrochemical reaction stages. The technique provides insights into phase transformations, ion insertion and extraction, and irreversible mechanical changes.
Scientific Applications:
- Electrochemical strain evolution in battery electrodes
- Electrode expansion and contraction during cycling
- Temporally and spatially resolved mechanical deformation
- Phase-transition-induced strain generation
- Rate-dependent chemo-mechanical responses
- Irreversible deformation and mechanical degradation
- Mechanical evolution of solid-state battery materials
Representative Publications:
- M. Wable, J. Park, E. Lee, C. Johnson, and Ö. Ö. Çapraz, “Probing Operando Electrochemical Strain Generation in α-NaFeO2 Composite Cathodes During Cycling of Na-ion Batteries,” Chemistry of Materials, 37, 9839–9848 (2025). View Publication
- B. Bal, B. Ozdogru, D. Nguyen, Z. Li, V. Murugesan, and Ö. Ö. Çapraz, “Probing the Formation of Cathode-Electrolyte Interphase on Lithium Iron Phosphate Cathodes via Operando Mechanical Measurements,” ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 15, 42449–42459 (2023). View Publication
- B. Ozdogru, S. Padwal, B. Bal, S. Harimkar, B. Koohbor, and Ö. Ö. Çapraz, “The Coupling between Voltage Profiles and Mechanical Deformations in LAGP Solid Electrolyte During Li Plating and Stripping,” ACS Applied Energy Materials, 5, 2655–2662 (2022). View Publication
- B. Marckx, H. Maclennan, and Ö. Ö. Çapraz, “Probing Electrochemical Strain Generation in Vanadium Oxide Cathodes during Cycling of Aqueous Zn-ion Batteries via Imaging Technique,” ACS Chemical & Biochemical Imaging, 3, 352–358 (2025). View Publication
3. Interfacial Mass and Viscoelasticity (QCM-D)
Quartz Crystal Microbalance with Dissipation Monitoring
Electrochemical reactions at electrified interfaces can involve mass transfer, surface adsorption, film formation, and changes in the mechanical properties of interfacial layers.
Quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) is a sensitive technique that monitors changes in the resonance frequency and energy dissipation of a quartz crystal sensor.
These measurements provide information about interfacial mass changes and, with suitable interpretation and modeling, the viscoelastic properties of surface-associated layers. When combined with compatible electrochemical measurements, QCM-D can help investigate interfacial processes under electrochemical operating conditions.
Scientific Applications:
- Interfacial mass changes during electrochemical reactions
- Adsorption and desorption processes
- Formation and evolution of surface-associated films
- Viscoelastic behavior of interfacial layers
- Electrochemical deposition and dissolution processes
- Electrode-electrolyte interfacial evolution
4. Battery Fabrication and Electrochemical Testing
The AMEE Laboratory maintains equipment for laboratory-scale battery electrode preparation, materials processing, and electrochemical testing. These capabilities support the development and evaluation of electrode materials and the investigation of electrochemical performance under controlled experimental conditions.
Electrode Preparation and Materials Processing
Our laboratory is equipped for electrode material preparation, mixing, milling, thin-film coating, drying, and controlled-atmosphere handling. Available equipment includes:
- MBraun argon-filled glovebox
- RETSCH PM 100 planetary ball mill
- Vacuum-less centrifugal mixer
- Laurell Technologies WS-650 spin coater
- Thermo Scientific Lindberg/Blue M vacuum oven
- Mettler Toledo precision analytical balances
- Chamber Espec BTZ-133 Temperature Chamber
Battery Cycling and Electrochemical Testing
We perform electrochemical measurements to investigate battery performance, reaction kinetics, and interfacial processes. Our testing equipment includes:
- Arbin battery cycler with 24 testing channels
- Gamry electrochemical impedance spectroscopy capabilities
- BioLogic SP-150 electrochemical workstation
These systems support galvanostatic cycling, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and other electrochemical measurements. Battery testing can be integrated with our operando stress and strain characterization techniques to investigate electrochemical-mechanical coupling in electrode materials.
Spectrophotometers
- A Bruker ALPHA II FT-IR spectrometer (inside the Argon-filled glove box) is used to analyze molecular structures, organic electrolytes, and surface interphase layers
- A Mettler Toledo UV5 Nano UV-Vis spectrophotometer is used to analyze dissolved ions
5. Complementary Characterizations
The AMEE Laboratory combines complementary mechanical and interfacial characterization approaches with electrochemical measurements to investigate the relationships between reaction mechanisms and material responses.
We integrate operando mechanical measurements with electrochemical techniques, including galvanostatic cycling, cyclic voltammetry, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. To better understand the underlying mechanisms of mechanical deformation under electrochemical operating conditions, we complement these measurements with chemical, morphological, and structural characterization. These complementary analyses are conducted using university shared research facilities, DOE national laboratory user facilities accessed through research proposals, and the expertise and capabilities of our collaborators.
These approaches help distinguish mechanical responses associated with ion intercalation, interfacial reactions, electrodeposition, phase transformations, and material degradation.