German National Academy of Sciences Fellow Professor Jürgen Janek Delivers Lecture at XMU "Academician Lecture Hall" and Visits Research Group

From August 1 to 3, 2026, at the invitation of Professor Yang Yong from the College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Professor Jürgen Janek, Fellow of the German National Academy of Sciences and a top international scholar in solid-state electrochemistry, paid an academic visit to Xiamen University. On August 3, Professor Janek delivered a brilliant lecture titled Solid State Batteries and The Role of Electrode Interphases to faculty and students in Lecture Hall 202 of the Lu Jiaxi Building as part of XMU’s "Academician Lecture Hall" series. The lecture was hosted by Professor Yang Yong.

Jürgen Janek is professor for Physical Chemistry at Justus Liebig University in Giessen (JLU). Germany, director of the JLU Center for Materials Research and Scientific Director of the BELLA lab at KIT, Karlsruhe. Recently, he also became Distinguished Professor at Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan. His research interests focus on the physical chemistry of inorganic solids, solid state ionics and reactivity, specifically on the properties of mixed ionic-electronic conductors, defect chemistry of ionic materials, kinetics of solid-state reactions and solid-solid interfaces. In recent years his research is focused strongly to the chemistry of battery materials, solid electrolytes and solid-state batteries and operando studies of batteries.

In his lecture, Professor Janek systematically reviewed the merits and prevailing limitations of various solid-state battery systems. The core segment of his presentation analyzed the stability and reaction kinetics of diverse internal interfaces within solid-state batteries, including interfaces at metallic lithium anodes, heterogeneous boundaries between dissimilar solid electrolytes, and numerous interfaces inside composite cathode systems. He elaborated in depth on the decisive impacts of the Solid Electrolyte Interphase (SEI) and Cathode Electrolyte Interphase (CEI) on lithium inventory and self-discharge in solid-state batteries.

Following the lecture, faculty and students from Professor Yang Yong’s research group held an in-depth discussion with Professor Janek, fostering a vibrant academic atmosphere for exchanges.