The project is a collaboration between MAX IV and the DanMAX beamline, the BatMAX hub and Chalmers University of Technology. The position is an exciting opportunity for a candidate looking to work in a highly collaborative environment across many closely connected teams.

The DanMAX beamline, in the Hard X-ray Group at MAX IV, is a materials science beamline specialising in X-ray diffraction and full-field imaging techniques. The beamline serves a very wide user community, spanning physics and chemistry to medical science. A significant fraction of the user base is studying batteries and battery materials.

This NanoCT position is hosted by the Division of Materials Physics (Prof. A. Matic) in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Chalmers University of Technology, which has a strong research focus on next generation chemistries and operando characterization of batteries with X-ray imaging and spectroscopy. Batteries@Chalmers gathers >99 researchers at six departments to develop education, research & infrastructure in battery technology. There is strong research on materials, cell concepts, processing, battery control, monitoring, and ageing, life cycle analysis & recycling.

The project

The project will be run within the BatMAX hub at MAX IV, which is a consortium of 4 universities (Chalmers, Lund, Uppsala and Aarhus) that will closely collaborate to tackle challenges associated with Na-ion solid state batteries through 6 weeks of beamtime per year across 6 different beamlines. The BatMAX hub links to the Battery Matrix, an internal group at MAX IV to enable lab-wide collaboration on the topic of battery research. This postdoctoral researcher position will play an active role in cross-beamline activities through both the BatMAX Hub and the Battery Matrix.

This position is one of three postdocs linked to the BatMAX consortium, each with a different speciality, that links the university groups to MAX IV. The positions are funded through the COMPEL national strategic initiative, which aims to strengthen battery research and education in Sweden. NanoCT has been demonstrated at DanMAX, but it remains in a developmental stage that is not ready for non-expert users. The goal of the project is to develop both the previously demonstrated X-ray microscope mode and the holo-tomography mode. This includes developments of software for experimental control, phase retrieval, and reconstruction. It will also include development of best practices for nanoCT on batteries, focusing in particular on minimizing radiation damage and enabling in operando nanoCT.