ProfessorJenny Pringle

My research is primarily focused on the development of new organic ionic electrolytes, both liquid and solid, for electrochemical devices. My research can be roughly broken down into three areas:
Ionic Liquids: these are a new type of solvent, composed entirely of ions, which are of interest for a variety of synthetic and electrochemical
applications. They can be non-volatile and non-flammable, with good ionic conductivity and excellent thermal and electrochemical stability. We are
interested in the design and synthesis of new families of ionic liquids and their use in devices such as lithium and sodium batteries.
Organic Ionic Plastic Crystals: these are crystalline phases found in many of the same organic salt families but these salts exhibit higher melting points and various forms of disorder and therefore exhibit plastic mechanical properties. This plasticity, and their intrinsic ionic conductivity, makes
them of interest as solid state ion conductors. We are also developing these for use in gas separation membranes and as barocalorics for sustainable cooling applications.
Thermal energy storage: we are investigating a range of different ionic materials for use as phase change materials for thermal energy storage.