Linqin Mu

Assistant Professor, School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy

Linqin Mu is currently an assistant professor at ASU. Her research interests are rechargeable batteries for energy storage. During her doctoral studies, Mu designed novel Cu-Fe-Ni-containing cathode materials and demonstrated the low-cost and high-performance Na-ion battery prototype. The work launched worldwide efforts in studying the Cu-redox cathode materials. The prototype Na-ion batteries are in commercialization for multiple applications in China. Before she joined the University of Oregon as a research assistant professor, Mu worked as a postdoctoral fellow and senior research associate at Virginia Tech where she developed a bi-modal hierarchical dopant distribution that enhances surface and bulk structural stability in the Ni-rich Co-free cathode material. Mu also contributes significantly to understanding failure mechanisms (cathode-electrolyte interface, heterogeneous reactions, mechanical breakdown, etc.) in batteries by comprehensive, advanced material characterization techniques (e.g., synchrotron radiation spectroscopy, diffraction, and imaging). She was recognized for her outstanding contributions to understanding battery degradation with the prestigious ECS Battery Division Postdoc Associate Research Award in 2019. She has more than 40 publications (16 of them are the first or corresponding author, including in Advanced Materials, Nature Communications, Nano Letters, Advanced Energy Materials, Energy & Environment Science). At the ASU, Mu is developing critical materials and high-energy devices for energy storage and understanding failure mechanisms in next-generation batteries.