Bio
Muhammad Mominur Rahman is an Alvin M. Weinberg Distinguished Staff Fellow at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. His research is driven by a central question: why do batteries degrade and fail when pushed beyond the conditions for which they were designed? These conditions can range from extreme temperatures and radiation to high-current pulses and realistic duty cycles encountered in practical applications.
Rahman seeks to uncover how coupled thermal, chemo-mechanical, interfacial, and structural processes govern battery degradation and failure under such demanding operating environments, and to translate this mechanistic understanding into materials solutions for more resilient batteries. He probes these dynamics using advanced operando and multimodal characterization approaches, including optical microscopy, synchrotron X-ray techniques, surface analysis, and microcalorimetry.
Guided by these insights, Rahman develops and engineers electrode and electrolyte materials for high-performance, next-generation energy-storage systems, with particular emphasis on controlling degradation, interphase evolution, and transport under demanding operating conditions. He currently serves as PI and co-PI on multiple Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) projects at ORNL, advancing fundamental understanding and materials-design strategies for safer, higher-energy-density batteries for electrified transportation—including ground and air mobility—and grid-energy-storage applications.
Professional Experience
Weinberg Distinguished Staff Fellow (Jan 2024 - present), Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Chemistry research associate (August 2021 – December 2023; worked in DOE Battery500 Consortium), Brookhaven National Laboratory
Graduate research assistant (August 2016 - May 2021), Virginia Tech
Awards
Emerging Investigator, 2026 Journal of Materials Chemistry A Emerging Investigator Themed Issue
Weinberg Distinguished Staff Fellowship 2024, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Supplemental Performance Award, 2024 and 2026
Electrochemical Society Battery Division Student Research Award, 2021
Chemistry Graduate Research Award, Virginia Tech, 2020
Graduate School Doctoral Assistantship Award, Department of Chemistry, Virginia Tech, Spring 2019
Finalist, Graduate Student of the Year Award, Virginia Tech, 2020
Dean’s Award, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, University of Dhaka, 2014
Dr. Aminul Haque-Atiya Haque Memorial Gold Medal, Department of Applied Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Dhaka, 2014
Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Foundation Scholarship, 2013
Dutch Bangla Bank Foundation Scholarship, 2011-2015
Education
Ph.D. in chemistry (August 2016 - May 2021)
Virginia Tech, USA; Supervisor: Prof. Feng Lin
M.S. in applied chemistry and chemical engineering (2016)
University of Dhaka, Bangladesh; Supervisor: Prof. Sayed Md. Shamsuddin
B.S. in applied chemistry and chemical engineering (2014)
University of Dhaka, Bangladesh
Professional Service
- Associate editor, Frontiers in Batteries and Electrochemistry
- Reviewer: Nature Communications, Joule, Matter, Materials Today, Energy Storage Materials, Nano Energy, Small, Small Methods, ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, Next Sustainability, eTransportation, Environmental Impact Assesment Review, Journal of the Electrochemical Society, Materials Horizons, Chemistry-A European Journal, RSC Applied Interfaces, Journal of Alloys and Compounds etc
Professional Affiliations
- Member, Electrochemical Society
- Member, American Chemical Society
- Member, Asian American Academy of Science and Engineering
Specialized Equipment
- X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy
- Operando Optical Microscopy
- Operando Isothermal Microcalorimetry
Publications
Valuation of Anode Materials for High-Performance Lithium Batteries: From Graphite to Lithium Metal…
Other Publications
(1) Rahman, M. M.; Wang, N.; Xiao, X.; Hu, E. Mitigating X-ray-induced damage for accurate analysis of battery cathodes using transmission X-ray microscopy. Chem. Commun. 2025, 61 (52), 9468-9471.
(2) Rahman, M. M.; Tan, S.; Yang, Y.; Zhong, H.; Ghose, S.; Waluyo, I.; Hunt, A.; Ma, L.; Yang, X.-Q.; Hu, E. An inorganic-rich but LiF-free interphase for fast charging and long cycle life lithium metal batteries. Nat. Commun. 2023, 14 (1), 8414.
(3) Rahman, M. M.; Hu, E. Electron Delocalization Enables Sulfone‐based Single‐solvent Electrolyte for Lithium Metal Batteries. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2023, e202311051.
(4) Rahman, M. M.; Xia, K.; Yang, X.-Q.; Ariyoshi, K.; Hu, E. Asymmetric lithium extraction and insertion in high voltage spinel at fast rate. Nano Lett. 2023, 23 (15), 7135-7142.
(5) Rahman, M. M. (co-corresponding author); Lin, F. Reports from the Frontier-Strategies to design stable layered oxide cathode for Na-ion batteries. Electrochem. Soc. Interface 2022, 31 (4) (invited).
(6) Rahman, M. M.; McGuigan, S.; Li, S.; Gao, L.; Hou, D.; Yang, Z.; Xu, Z.; Lee, S.-J.; Sun, C.-J.; Liu, J.; Huang, X.; Xiao, X.; Chu, Y.; Sainio, S.; Nordlund, D.; Kong, X.; Liu, Y.; Lin, F. Chemical Modulation of Local Transition Metal Environment Enables Reversible Oxygen Redox in Mn-Based Layered Cathodes. ACS Energy Lett. 2021, 2882–2890.
(7) Rahman, M. M.; Lin, F. Oxygen Redox Chemistry in Rechargeable Li-Ion and Na-Ion Batteries. Matter 2021, 4 (2), 490–527.
(8) Rahman, M. M.; Chen, W.-Y.; Mu, L.; Xu, Z.; Jiang, Z.; Liu, Y.; Li, M.; Bai, X.; Lin, F., Defect and structural evolution under high energy ion irradiation informs battery materials design for extreme environments. Nat. Commun. 2020, 11 (1), 4548.
(9) Rahman, M. M.; Mao, J.; Kan, W. H.; Sun, C.-J.; Li, L.; Zhang, Y.; Avdeev, M.; Du, X.-W.; Lin, F. An Ordered P2/P3 Composite Layered Oxide Cathode with Long Cycle Life in Sodium-Ion Batteries. ACS Mater. Lett. 2019, 1 (5), 573–581 (one of the most downloaded papers from 2019 and 2020).
(10) Rahman, M. M.; Zhang, Y.; Xia, S.; Kan, W. H.; Avdeev, M.; Mu, L.; Sokaras, D.; Kroll, T.; Du, X. W.; Nordlund, D.; et al. Surface Characterization of Li-Substituted Compositionally Heterogeneous NaLi0.045Cu0.185Fe0.265Mn0.505O2 Sodium-Ion Cathode Material. J. Phys. Chem. C 2019, 123 (18), 11428–11435.
(11) Rahman, M. M.; Xu, Y.; Cheng, H.; Shi, Q.; Kou, R.; Mu, L.; Liu, Q.; Xia, S.; Xiao, X.; Sun, C.-J.; et al. Empowering Multicomponent Cathode Materials for Sodium Ion Batteries by Exploring Three-Dimensional Compositional Heterogeneities. Energy Environ. Sci. 2018, 11 (9), 2496–2508.