PNNL

Dan-Thien Nguyen is a materials scientist on the Materials Discovery team in the Physical Sciences Division at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. His research focuses on advancing lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery technology, with a particular emphasis on optimizing liquid and solid electrolytes for high-performance battery applications and characterizing degradation mechanisms in Li-ion batteries. He has dedicated his past decade of work to unraveling the complexities of energy storage systems, concentrating on the critical roles of liquid electrolytes, ionic transport behaviors, and interfacial reactions at the liquid–solid interface. His goal is to formulate innovative electrolytes designed to enhance the energy density and cycling stability of Li-ion, multivalent (Mg, Zn, Al), and solid-state batteries. He also has experience in battery manufacturing and has led collaborative projects with industry to improve the formation processes and safety of commercial Li-ion batteries.

• Batteries
• Interfacial reactions
• Solid electrolyte interphase

• PhD in industrial chemistry, Chungnam National University
• BS in chemistry and secondary education, Quy Nhon University

• Nguyen, Dan Thien, Vijayakumar Murugesan, Venkateshkumar Prabhakaran, and Karl T. Mueller. "Aluminum-ether-based composition for batteries and ambient temperature aluminum deposition." U.S. Patent Application 18/130,281, filed October 5, 2023.

2024 (Selected)

• Nguyen, Dan-Thien, Venkateshkumar Prabhakaran, Libor Kovarik, Grant Alexander, Jordi Cabana, Justin G. Connell, Jian Zhi Hu et al. "Structural and chemical evolutions of a magnesium vanadium oxide cathode under electrochemical cycling in magnesium batteries." Nano Energy 128 (2024): 109939.
• Chen, Chi, Dan Thien Nguyen, Shannon J. Lee, Nathan A. Baker, Ajay S. Karakoti, Linda Lauw, Craig Owen et al. "Accelerating Computational Materials Discovery with Machine Learning and Cloud High-Performance Computing: from Large-Scale Screening to Experimental Validation." Journal of the American Chemical Society 146, no. 29 (2024): 20009-20018.
• Edgecomb, Joseph, Dan Thien Nguyen, Shuai Tan, Vijayakumar Murugesan, Grant E. Johnson, and Venkateshkumar Prabhakaran. "Electrochemical Imaging of Precisely‐Defined Redox and Reactive Interfaces." Angewandte Chemie International Edition (2024): e202405846.
• Chen, Ying, Rasha Atwi, Dan Thien Nguyen, J. David Bazak, Nathan T. Hahn, Jaegeon Ryu, Jesse A. Sears et al. "From Bulk to Interface: Solvent Exchange Dynamics and Their Role in Ion Transport and the Interfacial Model of Rechargeable Magnesium Batteries." Journal of the American Chemical Society 146, no. 19 (2024): 12984-12999.
• Li, Zheng, Dan‐Thien Nguyen, J. David Bazak, Kee Sung Han, Ying Chen, Venkateshkumar Prabhakaran, Thuy Thanh Le et al. "Stable Cycling of Mg Metal Anodes by Regulating the Reactivity of Mg2+ Solvation Species." Advanced Energy Materials 14, no. 16 (2024): 2301544.

2024

• Lim H., D. Nguyen, J.A. Lochala, X. Cao, and J. Zhang. 2024. "Improving Cycling Performance of Anode-Free Lithium Batteries by Pressure and Voltage Control." ACS Energy Letters 9, no. 1:126-135. PNNL-SA-189664. doi:10.1021/acsenergylett.3c01808

2023

• Bal B., B. Ozdogru, D. Nguyen, Z. Li, V. Murugesan, and O. Ozgur Capraz. 2023. "Probing the Formation of Cathode-Electrolyte Interface on Lithium Iron Phosphate Cathodes via Operando Mechanical Measurements." ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 15, no. 36:42449-42459. PNNL-SA-184392. doi:10.1021/acsami.3c05749
• Jeong H., D. Nguyen, Y. Yang, D. Buchholz, G. Evmenenko, J. Guo, and F. Yang, et al. 2023. "Electrolyte Reactivity on MgV2O4 Cathode Surface." ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 15, no. 41:48072-48084. PNNL-SA-185103. doi:10.1021/acsami.3c07875
• Lim H., C. Venkata Subban, D. Nguyen, T.S. Nasoetion, T. Liu, K. Han, and B. Modachur Sivakumar, et al. 2023. Room Temperature Electrorefining of Rare Earth Metals from End-of-use Nd-Fe-B Magnets. PNNL-34948. Richland, WA: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Room Temperature Electrorefining of Rare Earth Metals from End-of-use Nd-Fe-B Magnets
• Lim H., W. Kwak, D. Nguyen, W. Wang, W. Xu, and J. Zhang. 2023. "Three-Dimensionally Semi-Ordered Macroporous Air Electrodes for Metal-Oxygen Batteries." Journal of Materials Chemistry A 11, no. 11:5746-5753. PNNL-SA-180310. doi:10.1039/D2TA09442H
• Prabhakaran V., G. Agarwal, J. Howard, S. Wi, V. Shutthanandan, D. Nguyen, and L.P. Soule, et al. 2023. "Coordination-dependent chemical reactivity of TFSI anions at a Mg metal interface." ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 15, no. 5:7518-7528. PNNL-SA-178429. doi:10.1021/acsami.2c18477
• Trinh T., T. Jian, B. Jin, D. Nguyen, R. Zuckermann, and C. Chen. 2023. "Designed Metal-Containing Peptoid Membranes as Enzyme Mimetics for Catalytic Organophosphate Degradation." ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 15, no. 44:51191-51203. PNNL-SA-190521.