Manuela C. Baptista, Hesham Khalifa, Adão Araújo, Beatriz Arouca Maia, Manuel Souto, and M. Helena Braga Giant polarization in quasi-adiabatic ferroelectric Na⁺ electrolyte for solid-state energy harvesting and storage  Advanced Functional Materials, Adv. Funct. Mater. 2022, 2212344 (pages: 1-13)

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adfm.202212344

Nuno Guerreiro, Beatriz A. Maia, Hesham Khalifa, Manuela C. Baptista, and M. Helena Braga  What differentiates dielectric oxides and solid electrolytes on the pathway toward more efficient energy storage? published in Batteries 2022, 8(11), 232,  https://doi.org/10.3390/batteries8110232

Congratulations, Hesham, on the first collaboration paper at MatER!

    PULSELiON EU      ALBATTS EU

N. Guerreiro, M. C. Baptista, B. A. Maia, and M. H. Braga Interfacial chemistry with ZnO: in operando work functions in hetero cells published on ACS Applied Energy Materials (American Chemistry Society), 2022. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsaem.2c01503

Congratulations, Nuno, on the first paper!

Manuela and Beatriz, congratulations on the first paper as MatER - Engineering Physics Department Ph.D. candidates!

F. Danzi, M. Valente, S. Terlicka, M. H. Braga, Sodium and Potassium ion rich ferroelectric solid electrolytes for traditional and electrode-less structural batteries, APL Materials (American Institute of Physics), 2022. Open https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0080054

Congratulations,  Mafalda, on the first paper!

Videos on our Ferroelectric Energy Harvest and Storage Cells:
What can we do with a ferroelectric electrolyte?
http://dx.doi.org/10.17632/7jgkmxxwb2.1
(F. Danzi, P.P. Camanho, M.H. Braga)

Please check the website for more.

Most important experience:

2008-2011 Research Scholar and Long Term Visiting Staff Member at Los Alamos National Laboratory (2008-2011).

2016-2019 Senior Research Fellow in the Materials Institute at the University of Texas at Austin, collaborating with Prof. John B. Goodenough, Nobel Prize of Chemistry 2019.

Main interests:

Her main interests include experimental and theoretical characterization of solid-state materials and devices (e.g., ferroelectrics, electrolytes, energy harvest and storage devices, and metal hydrides). Her activities include materials synthesis and characterization and devices’ conceptualization (new architectures), assembly, and testing.

The experimental techniques she uses are electrical impedance spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical cycling, ionic and electrical conductivity measurements, Differential Scanning Calorimetry, Scanning Electron Microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray and neutron diffraction, and spectroscopy, including Rietveld refinement and pair distribution function (PDF).

Density function theory (DFT), phonon, molecular dynamics, electrical, optical, and mechanical properties calculations, and phase diagrams assessment (using CALPHAD) are some of the theoretical simulation tools she uses.

She is credited with having created ferroelectric-glassy electrolytes and novel device architectures. 

Main recognitions:
- Scientific recognition FEUP in 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2016, 2015, 2014, and 2007 for her publications and/or patents;

- 2021 BIP PROOF award (Soli@uto team) with the support of Amadeu Dias Foundation, Santander Universities, and the University of Porto to develop a commercial prototype;

- 2020 Award "Personality" Exame Informática - Visão - Sapo (Portuguese) with SIC (TV); 

- 2014-2016 Special Visitor Researcher Grant of the CNPq (Brazilian Science Foundation);

- 2012 Luso-American Foundation (FLAD) Paper Grant to present the MRS 2012 invited talk in Boston, USA;

- 2008-2009 FCT Sabbatical fellowship;