Debra R. Rolison
Quick Facts
Biography
Debra R. Rolison is a physical chemist at the Naval Research Laboratory, where she is a head of the Advanced Electrochemical Materials section. Rolison's research involves the design, synthesis, and characterization of multi-functional nanostructures and ultra porous material] for rate-critical applications such as catalysis and energy storage.
Rolison was born in Iowa. She moved to south Florida in 1968 where she attended high school. She received her B.S. from Florida Atlantic University in 1975 and her PhD from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1980. She began her work at the NRL in 1980 where she started the Advanced Electrochemical Materials section in 1999.
Research
Zeolite modified electrodes and electrode modified zeolites
Rolison is known for her research on the modification of electrode surfaces with Zeolites. "Zeolite modified electrodes" are ordinary electrodes coated with a layer of zeolite/polymer composite that excludes particles based on size, shape, and charge. "Electrode-modified zeolites" are synthesized with electroactive transition metal ions or complexes trapped within the lattice "cages" of the zeolite. The "metalated" zeolite is either pressed into a zeolite/polymer composite and used as a solid electrode, or a slurry is dispersed in an electrochemical cell. The metal ions within the zeolite lattice provide redox sites for electrochemical reactions, while the zeolite lattice excludes particles based on size, shape, and charge.
Zinc-air rechargeable battery
Rolison's latest accomplishment is the invention of a zinc-air rechargeable battery with "energy/power performance that meet[s] or exceed[s] state-of-the-art Li-ion batteries". According to Rolison's paper, "interparticle connectivity is lost in powder-composite electrodes leading to regions of high local current density and dendrite formation". While simple zinc-air batteries use a zinc oxide "powder-composite" anode, Rolison's battery uses a zinc "sponge" which preserves interparticle connectivity and maintains a uniform current distribution within the 3D structure of the anode, thereby preventing the regions of locals current density which promote dendrite formation.
