Professor M. Stanley Whittingham

  • Distinguished Professor, Chemistry and Materials Science & Engineering
  • Director, DOE-EFRC-NECCES, Stony Brook University, 2011-
  • Director, Institute for Materials Research, SUNY at Binghamton
  • Vice-Chair, Board of Directors, RF of SUNY, 1995-2000

  • B.A. Chemistry, Oxford University, England, 1964
  • M.A. Oxford University, England, 1967
  • D.Phil. Chemistry, Oxford University, England, 1968
  • Postdoctoral Fellow, Stanford University, CA, 1968-72

  • Exxon Research & Engineering Company, 1972-1984
  • Schlumberger, 1984-1988

    Wikipedia Biography

  • Young Author Award, Electrochemical Society, 1971
  • JSPS Fellow, Tokyo University, 1993
  • Battery Research Award, The Electrochemical Society, 2002
  • Fellow, The Electrochemical Society, 2004
  • Research Foundation Outstanding Research Award, 2007
  • Chancellors Award for Excellence in Scholarship, SUNY, 2007
  • American Chemical Society-NERM Award for Achievements in the Chemical Sciences, 2010
  • GreentechMedia top 40 innovators for contributions to advancing green technology, 2010
  • Yeager Award, Int. Battery Association, for Lifetime Contributions to Lithium Batteries, 2012.

    • Research Interests (This work is supported by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Deptartment of Energy)

    The research interests of the materials chemistry group are in the preparation and chemical and physical properties of novel inorganic oxide materials, using in particular soft chemistry (chimie douce) approaches. Much of our effort is targeted at finding new materials for advancing energy storage and production. Recently we have reported the first layered vanadium and molybdenum oxides containing organic cations (see figure below), simple layered alkali manganese dioxides formed from the hydrothermal decomposition of permanganates, and hydrothermal synthesis methods for the formation of a group of iron phosphates that are being used as the cathodes in a range of commercial applications.

    The chemistry of materials is one of the two areas of chemistry experiencing the greatest growth at the present time both in academic institutions and industry. This popularity can be associated with the pervasiveness of solids throught our lives, from semiconductors through energy storage to geological/biological systems, and to a number of recent breakthroughs, including high-temperature inorganics superconductors.

    One of our goals is to find new synthetic routes to prepare metastable compounds that cannot be prepared by traditional techniques. Primary emphasis is on reacting ions in solution with solids, so that the ions diffuse into the solids giving, for example, enhanced superconductivity. In many cases it is possible to form previously unknown open structures, such as layered VO2, by diffusing ions out of existing structures creating vacant tunnels or layers in which chemistry may be perfomed or separations/catalysis carried out.

    Another goal is the understanding and exploitation of ionic motion in solids and its use in electrochromic devices and batteries. Here much emphasis is on intercalation compounds of the transition metal oxides, AlkxMOy, where M includes V, Mn, Fe, Mo etc. Closely related is an investigation of aluminosilicates which can swell in the presence of water and other solvents and have been implicated as playing a critical role in diagenetic processes. These compounds are excellent systems for performing chemistry on the molecular level, and have the potential for revolutionizing the area of nanocomposites.

    Binghamton Publications:

    2000-2008 Papers

    1993-1999 Papers

    1987-1992 Papers

    Books and Reviews:

    Intercalation Chemistry eds. M. S. Whittingham and A. J. Jacobson. (Academic Press, 1984).

    Solid State Chemistry of Energy Conversion and Storage eds. J. B. Goodenough and M. S. Whittingham, American Chemical Society Symposium Series #163 (1977).

    Chemistry of High Temperature Superconductors eds. D. L. Nelson, M. S. Whittingham and T. F. George, American Chemical Society Symposium Series #352 (1987).

    Materials Science in Energy Technology eds. G. G. Libowitz and M. S. Whittingham . (Academic Press, 1979).

    Mixed Conductors - Synthesis, Properties and Applications MRS Bulletin, September 1989.
    Contact Information
    Name:M. Stanley Whittingham E-Mail: stanwhit@Binghamton.edu
    Address: Department of Chemistry Phone:(607) 777-4623
    Binghamton University FAX:(607) 777-4623
    Binghamton, NY 13902-6000

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