Kieran Mylrea

Chemistry

Kieran Mylrea grew up in a small village in the Midlands, before moving to Cambridge for his undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. He developed a keen interest in materials chemistry from an early age, which was further encouraged by his enjoyment of the Materials Science and Chemistry courses he studied during his undergraduate degree.

His research focuses on next-generation batteries, which promise to significantly increase the energy density of batteries while aiming to alleviate environmental and social concerns. Currently, these technologies are held back by poorly understood failure mechanisms that limit their lifetime. He develops and applies a range of experimental techniques to understand what goes wrong inside these batteries as they operate and rest. To study these failure mechanisms, he uses electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and operando nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy—techniques that allow him to probe what is happening inside a working battery in real time, without having to take it apart. By combining these approaches, he aims to build clear mechanistic pictures that can ultimately inform the design of longer-lasting, safer batteries. He then works on developing novel stabilisation strategies involving electrolyte additives and polymeric coatings with the aim of inhibiting degradation mechanisms and making next generation batteries a viable component of the struggle against climate change.