Dr Denis Cumming
School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering
Senior Lecturer
Deputy Director Student Support
Postgraduate Research Progression Tutor
+44 114 222 9609
Full contact details
School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering
Room G18
Sir Robert Hadfield Building
Mappin Street
Sheffield
S1 3JD
- Profile
-
I received a B. Applied Science (Materials Science) from the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia in 2001.
After moving to the UK, I began working with the Imperial College fuel cell spin-out, Ceres Power. During my time at Ceres Power I worked on a range of material problems related to the development of metal-supported intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC). My main interests during this time was the optimisation of existing anode composite structures and the development of new anode materials for SOFCs.
In 2009 I was awarded a PhD from Imperial College, London. My doctoral work was focused on the development and characterisation of novel ceramic anode materials for SOFC. This work also led to other, closely related, research interests in reduction-oxidation (redox) tolerance and sulfur tolerance of metal-ceramic anode materials in SOFC.
In 2010 I joined the electroceramics group in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Sheffield working of the development of novel high Curie temperature piezoelectric materials and processing into multilayer, co-fired actuators.
In 2012 I joined the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and resumed research on high-temperature solid oxide cells (SOCs) for use in the electrolysis of steam and carbon dioxide for syngas production. I worked as part of the 4CU team and I was involved in the fabrication and in-situ characterisation of operational SOCs using vibrational spectroscopy techniques such as DRIFTS and Raman.
Since December 2014, have been a lecturer in the Chemical and Biological Engineering Department at the University of Sheffield.
- Research interests
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My current research interest focus on development of stable nano-sctructured materials for improved high temperature electrochemical electrodes and catalysts. This involves materials development as well as techniques to investigate changes in structure and reactivity. Applications for this research are aimed at improvements to fuel cells and electrolysers, electrochemical sensors, gas separators and heterogeneous catalysis. Key areas of interest include:
- Electrode design development
- Infiltration
- Mixed conducting ceramics for functional devices
- 3D microscopy using advanced tomographic techniques
- High temperature in-situ spectroscopic and chemical characterisation
- Electrochemical sensors and separators
- Carbon measurement and control at high temperature
- Gas-Solid interactions at high temperature
- Mesoporous materials for high temperature applications
- Publications
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Journal articles
- Effect of carbon blacks on electrical conduction and conductive binder domain of next-generation lithium-ion batteries. Journal of Power Sources, 592, 233916-233916.
- Using Ag nanoparticles in the electron transport layer of perovskite solar cells to improve efficiency. Solar Energy, 268, 112318-112318.
- Microstructure of conductive binder domain for electrical conduction in next‐generation lithium‐ion batteries. Energy Technology.
- Discrete element method and electrochemical modelling of lithium ion cathode structures characterised by X-ray computed tomography. Chemical Engineering Journal, 465, 142749-142749.
- Carbon binder domain networks and electrical conductivity in lithium-ion battery electrodes: A critical review. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 166, 112624-112624.
- Roadmap on Li-ion battery manufacturing research. Journal of Physics: Energy, 4(4).
- Recycling graphite from waste aluminium smelter Spent Pot Lining into lithium-ion battery electrode feedstock. Cleaner Production Letters, 2, 100004-100004.
- Discrete element method (DEM) analysis of lithium ion battery electrode structures from X-ray tomography-the effect of calendering conditions. Powder Technology, 403.
- Design of Scalable, Next-Generation Thick Electrodes: Opportunities and Challenges. ACS Nano, 15(12), 18624-18632.
- Measurements and modelling of the response of an ultrasonic pulse to a lithium-ion battery as a precursor for state of charge estimation. Journal of Energy Storage, 36.
- Mechanistic Understanding and Rapid Electrochemical Reduction of Silica for Lithium-Ion Battery Anodes. ECS Meeting Abstracts, MA2020-02(2), 371-371.
- Insights into the electrochemical reduction products and processes in silica anodes for next-generation lithium-ion batteries. Advanced Energy Materials, 10(43).
- Gas permeability, wettability and morphology of gas diffusion layers before and after performing a realistic ex-situ compression test. Renewable Energy, 151, 1082-1091.
- H2‐free synthesis of aromatic, cyclic and linear oxygenates from CO2. ChemSusChem, 13(3), 647-658.
- Pursuing safer batteries: Thermal abuse of LiFePO4 cells. Journal of Power Sources, 414, 557-568. View this article in WRRO
- Methodology to determine the heat capacity of lithium-ion cells. Journal of Power Sources, 395, 369-378.
- Low-temperature co-sintering for fabrication of zirconia/ceria bi-layer electrolyte via tape casting using a Fe2O3 sintering aid. Journal of the European Ceramic Society, 37(13), 3981-3993. View this article in WRRO
- Nickel Impregnated Cerium-Doped Strontium Titanate Fuel Electrode: Direct Carbon Dioxide Electrolysis and Co-Electrolysis. Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 163(11), F3057-F3061. View this article in WRRO
- In-Situ Analysis of Co-Electrolysis Species Via Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transform Spectroscopy (DRIFTS). ECS Meeting Abstracts, MA2015-03(1), 100-100.
- Thermal imaging of solid oxide cells operating under electrolysis conditions. Journal of Power Sources, 280, 387-392. View this article in WRRO
- In-Situ Raman Spectroscopy Probing of Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cells. ECS Meeting Abstracts, MA2014-02(23), 1342-1342.
- Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transform Spectroscopy (DRIFTS) for In-Situ Analysis of Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cells. ECS Meeting Abstracts, MA2014-02(23), 1360-1360.
- Voltage pulsing for performance recovery of yttria-stabilised zirconia membranes in oxygen/sulfur dioxide separation. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 39(28), 15670-15680.
- Bi(Me)O
3 -PbTiO3 high TC piezoelectric multilayers. Materials Technology, 28(5), 247-253.
- Electrocatalytic Cells for Synthetic Fuel Production from Carbon Dioxide. ECS Meeting Abstracts, MA2012-01(28), 1103-1103.
- BaTiO
-Bi(Zn
Ti
)O
-BiScO
Ceramics for High-Temperature Capacitor Applications. Journal of the American Ceramic Society.
- Fabrication and characterization of Ni/ScSZ cermet anodes for IT-SOFCs. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 36(9), 5557-5566.
- Electrical properties and dimensional stability of ce-doped SrTiO
3-δ for solid oxide fuel cell applications. Journal of the American Ceramic Society, 94(9), 2993-3000.
- Structural properties of Ce-doped strontium titanate for fuel cell applications. Journal of Materials Chemistry, 21(13), 5021-5026.
- Methanol as a direct fuel in intermediate temperature (500-600 degrees C) solid oxide fuel cells with copper based anodes. CHEM ENG SCI, 60(21), 5649-5662.
- Al/AlN layered composites by direct nitridation of aluminum. JOURNAL OF MATERIALS SCIENCE LETTERS, 22(22), 1627-1630.
- Printed Carbon Black Thermocouple as an In Situ Thermal Sensor for Lithium-Ion Cell. Batteries, 10(3), 78-78.
- Overcoming copper-induced conversion reactions in nickel disulphide anodes for sodium-ion batteries. Nanoscale Advances.
- Co, Ni-Free Ultrathick Free-Standing Dry Electrodes for Sustainable Lithium-Ion Batteries. ACS Applied Energy Materials.
- Numerical Design of Microporous Carbon Binder Domains Phase in Composite Cathodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.
- Status and outlook for lithium-ion battery cathode material synthesis and the application of mechanistic modelling. Journal of Physics: Energy.
- Development of a diffuse reflectance infrared fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) cell for the in situ analysis of co-electrolysis in a solid oxide cell. Faraday Discussions, 182, 97-111. View this article in WRRO
Chapters
- Lithium Batteries – Lithium Secondary Batteries – Li-ion Battery | Production, Encyclopedia of Electrochemical Power Sources (pp. 461-471). Elsevier
- High Temperature Electrolysis, Carbon Dioxide Utilisation: Closing the Carbon Cycle: First Edition (pp. 183-209).
Conference proceedings papers
- Investigating organic phase change behavior with thermal photography. Energy Procedia, Vol. 151 (pp 52-56), 11 September 2018 - 12 September 2018. View this article in WRRO
- A Study of 8YSZ/GDC Bi-Layered Electrolyte: The Effect of 2 Mol% Fe2O3 Dopant on Sintering and Conductivity. ECS meeting SOFC-XIV (SOFC Electrolytes, Cells and Stacks)
- Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy Data from Solid Oxide Cells Undergoing Co-Electrolysis: The Influence of Rig Inductance. ECS Transactions, Vol. 68(1) (pp 3417-3427)
- Separation of sulphur dioxide and oxygen in thermochemical hydrogen production. Fuels and Petrochemicals Division 2013 - Core Programming Area at the 2013 AIChE Annual Meeting: Global Challenges for Engineering a Sustainable Future (pp 204)
- In-Situ Monitoring of Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cells. ECS Transactions, Vol. 58(2) (pp 207-216)
- Stacks And Systems Based Around Metal Supported SOFCs
Operating at 500–600°C. ECS Proceedings Volumes, Vol. 2005-07(1) (pp 113-122)
- Development of metal supported solid oxide fuel cells for operation at 500-600 degrees C. JOURNAL OF FUEL CELL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, Vol. 1(1) (pp 61-65)
Preprints
- Effect of carbon blacks on electrical conduction and conductive binder domain of next-generation lithium-ion batteries. Journal of Power Sources, 592, 233916-233916.