IAESTE Internships

Location

Switzerland

Internship type

ON-SITE

Reference number

CH-2025-000067

Students Requirements

General discipline

Chemistry and Chemical Engineering

Completed Years of Study

2

Fields of Study

Inorganic Chemistry

Languages

English Excellent (C1, C2)

Required Knowledge and Experience

-

Other Requirements

-

Work Details

Duration

12 - 26 Weeks

Within These Dates

16.06.2025 - 19.12.2025

Holidays

NONE

Work Environment

-

Gross pay

2100 CHF / month

Working Hours

40.0 per week / 8.0 per day

Living Lodging

Type of Accommoditation

Employer

Cost of lodging

900 CHF / month

Cost of living

1750 CHF / month

Work Offered

Additional Info

Any student with Non-EU/EFTA nationality needs an official letter from their university, confirming that the internship is compulsory (required for visa/work permit).

Work description

The Paul Scherrer Institute PSI is the largest research institute for natural and engineering sciences within Switzerland. We perform cutting-edge research in the fields of future technologies, energy and climate, health innovation and fundamentals of nature. By performing fundamental and applied research, we work on sustainable solutions for major challenges facing society, science and economy. PSI is committed to the training of future generations. Therefore, about one quarter of our staff are post-docs, post-graduates or apprentices. Altogether, PSI employs 2300 people. Project: Enabling zero-excess Li metal anodes in next generation all-solid-state batteries using functional nanolayers The development of all-solid-state batteries has attracted a lot of attention in the past decade due to their enhanced safety and impressive energy density reaching up to 500 Wh/kg when combined with Li metal anodes. Recently, the implementation of zero-excess Li metal anodes has shown potential to further increase volumetric energy density while reducing production costs. Those kinds of anodes are not using a reservoir of Li metal but consists of only a current collector where the Li ions from the cathode material are plated in situ during the initial charge. Despite these advantages, this system suffers from very low coulombic efficiencies due to the formation of dead Lithium and internal short circuits by Li filament growth caused by the irregular plating of Li metal on conventional copper current collectors. To address these challenges, sub-micron thick functional layers consisting of a nucleation and barrier layer have shown significant potential to improve the homogeneity of Li metal suppressing filament growth and minimizing side reactions. Therefore, the project focuses on the designing of different functional layers on conventional copper current collector for all-solid-state batteries to improve the cycle life. In a first-place various functional layers are prepared on copper current collector using physical deposition techniques such as DC/RF sputtering or E-beam evaporation. Second, these layers are thoroughly characterized by advanced methods, including SEM/EDX and XPS. Furthermore, these layers are tested electrochemically against Li metal or conventional cathode using solid-state electrolyte. Testing methodologies will include galvanostatic cycling, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry to characterize their electrochemical properties and performance improvements.

Deadline

25.04.2025