About

W. Craig Carter is the Toyota Professor in Materials Processing and a Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT. His research focuses on the application of theoretical and computational materials science to microstructural evolution and the relationships between material properties and microstructure. He emphasizes the physical analysis of complex processes and the development of numerical algorithms and codes for microstructural simulation. In recent years, his interests have included the science of battery materials and the electro-chemo-mechanics of phase transitions and fracture of battery electrodes. Professor Carter received all his degrees in materials science from the University of California, Berkeley, earning a PhD in 1989. He has worked at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Rockwell Science Center before joining MIT in 1998. His notable contributions include developing a flow battery utilizing co-suspensions of solid-state electrodes and electronically conductive particulates, and co-founding the company 24M to produce grid-scale energy storage systems. He has collaborated with other researchers and institutions, including projects with MIT Media Lab's Neri Oxman that incorporate materials science, natural design, and mythology, with some of their work being exhibited and included in major museum collections. His research has also contributed to the development of continuum models of polycrystals, notably producing the widely employed KWC equation, and exploring transitions at grain boundaries through the concept of complexions as first-order structural and chemical transitions. Among his key publications is work on controlling dendrite propagation in solid-state batteries, which addresses battery failure mechanisms and aims to improve safety, longevity, and charging speed of rechargeable batteries. Professor Carter has received numerous awards, including the 2017 Outstanding Educator Award from the American Ceramic Society and the 2008 Bose Award for Excellence in Teaching at MIT.

Research topics

• Composite material
• Chemistry
• Materials science
• Metallurgy
• Engineering
• Geometry
• Mathematics
• Physical chemistry
• Forensic engineering
• Structural engineering
• Thermodynamics
• Nanotechnology
• Chemical engineering

Selected publications

• Selective-Area Deposition of Indium and Its Plasmonic Properties

  ACS Applied Optical Materials · 2025-12-10

  articleOpen access

  We present an effective process sequence for the deposition of indium nanostructures using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on a silicon substrate. Using a template structure composed of inverted pyramids and V-grooves, we deposit indium nanostructures with various dimensions. Spatially resolved cathodoluminescence spectroscopy (CL) using an electron-beam energy of 30 keV electrons shows a localized surface plasmon (LSP) resonance in spherical particles with a peak wavelength at 300 nm and a full width at half-maximum of 70 nm for the smallest particles (diameter of 85 nm), showing high optical quality of the grown indium. V-groove template structures create indium nanowires for which CL spectroscopy reveals efficient propagation of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs), and angle-resolved CL on the periodic inverted pyramids reveals optical lattice resonances arising from the array's periodicity. The high optical quality of these nanostructures enables further applications of plasmonic nanostructures in the ultraviolet (UV) spectral range.

  PublisherDOI

• Electrochemical Embrittlement Accelerates Dendrite Growth in Ceramic Electrolytes

  ECS Meeting Abstracts · 2024-08-09

  article

  Although solid-state batteries with metal anodes promise to enable safer, higher energy density batteries, metal protrusions (dendrites) grow when charging faster than a critical current density[1,2]. It is generally believed that dendrites grow when plating-induced stresses exceed that required for fracture of the solid-electrolyte[2–4]. Although the electrolyte's fracture toughness is commonly taken as a constant[2–4], here we show that the effective fracture toughness depends markedly upon the metal deposition current density. Based upon operando birefringence microscopy[5], we directly measure dendrite-induced stresses and obtain the mechanical driving force for failure, as well as the electrolyte fracture toughness. We find that increasing current densities embrittle the solid electrolyte—diminishing the fracture toughness by as much as 70%. Cryogenic Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (Cryo-STEM) reveals decomposed electrolyte phases at the dendrite tip. This decomposition is associated with a volume contraction consistent with embrittlement of the electrolyte. All experiments were conducted on the most electrochemically stable Li-ion conducting solid electrolyte (tantalum-doped lithium lanthanum zirconium oxide); the fracture toughness of less stable electrolytes (e.g., agryodites) may be even more susceptible to such embrittlement. The collective results indicate that “electrochemical embrittlement” markedly weakens the electrolyte, enabling dendrite growth—even when such degradation has negligible effect on bulk electrochemical properties. References: Sudworth, J. L., Hames, M. D., Storey, M. A., Azim, M. F. & Tilley, A. R. An analysis and laboratory assessment of Two Sodium Sulfur Cell Designs. Power Sources 4, 1–18 (1972). Sharafi, A., Meyer, H. M., Nanda, J., Wolfenstine, J. & Sakamoto, J. Characterizing the Li–Li7La3Zr2O12 interface stability and kinetics as a function of temperature and current density. J. Power Sources 302, 135–139 (2016). Fincher, C. D. et al. Controlling dendrite propagation in solid-state batteries with engineered stress. Joule 6, 2794-2809 (2022). Porz, L. et al. Mechanism of lithium metal penetration through inorganic solid electrolytes. Adv. Energy Mater. 7, 1701003 (2017). Athanasiou†, C. E., Fincher†, C. D. et al. Operando measurements of dendrite-induced stresses in ceramic electrolytes using photoelasticity. Matter (2023).

  PublisherDOI

• Nanoparticle Superlattices with Nonequilibrium Crystal Shapes

  ACS Nano · 2024-06-05 · 8 citations

  article

  Nanoparticle assembly is a material synthesis strategy that enables precise control of nanoscale structural features. Concepts from traditional crystal growth research have been tremendously useful in predicting and programming the unit cell symmetries of these assemblies, as their thermodynamically favored structures are often identical to atomic crystal analogues. However, these analogies have not yielded similar levels of influence in programming crystallite shapes, which are a consequence of both the thermodynamics and kinetics of crystal growth. Here, we demonstrate kinetic control of the colloidal crystal shape using nanoparticle building blocks that rapidly assemble over a broad range of concentrations, thereby producing well-defined crystal habits with symmetrically oriented dendritic protrusions and providing insight into the crystals' morphological evolution. Counterintuitively, these nonequilibrium crystal shapes actually become more common for colloidal crystals synthesized closer to equilibrium growth conditions. This deviation from typical crystal growth processes observed in atomic or molecular crystals is shown to be a function of the drastically different time scales of atomic and colloidal mass transport. Moreover, the particles are spherical with isotropic ligand grafts, and these kinetic crystal habits are achieved without the need for specifically shaped particle building blocks or external templating or shape-directing agents. Thus, this work provides generalizable design principles to expand the morphological diversity of nanoparticle superlattice crystal habits beyond the anhedral or equilibrium polyhedral shapes synthesized to date. Finally, we use this insight to synthesize crystallite shapes that have never before been observed, demonstrating the ability to both predict and program kinetically controlled superlattice morphologies.

  PublisherDOI

• Direct Mechanical and Electrochemical Analysis of Dendrites in Solid-State Electrolytes

  ECS Meeting Abstracts · 2024-11-22

  article

  Although solid-state batteries with metal anodes promise to enable safer, higher energy density batteries, metal protrusions (dendrites) short-circuit the cell when charging faster than a critical current density. 1,2 It is generally believed that dendrites grow when the strain energy available for crack extension (the strain energy release rate, ) exceeds that required for fracture of the solid-electrolyte. .2-4 We test this hypothesis using operando birefringence microscopy 5 to directly observe dendrite-induced stresses. The strain energy release rate is determined by fitting the experimentally measured stress distribution to that which is expected in the vicinity of an internally loaded crack (detailed in Fig. 1). 6 These operando experiments, combined with cryogenic scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) characterization of the dendrite tip, enable studies of electrochemical and mechanical phenomena underlying dendrite growth in ceramic electrolytes. All experiments were conducted on the most electrochemically stable Li-ion conducting solid electrolyte (tantalum-doped lithium lanthanum zirconium oxide). References: Sudworth, J. L., Hames, M. D., Storey, M. A., Azim, M. F. & Tilley, A. R. An analysis and laboratory assessment of Two Sodium Sulfur Cell Designs. Power Sources 4, 1–18 (1972). Sharafi, A. S. et al. Characterizing the Li–Li7La3Zr2O12 interface stability and kinetics as a function of temperature and current density. J. Power Sources 302, 135–139 (2016). Fincher, C. D. et al. Controlling dendrite propagation in solid-state batteries with engineered stress. Joule 6, 2794-2809 (2022). Porz † , L., Swamy † , T. et al. Mechanism of lithium metal penetration through inorganic solid electrolytes. Adv. Energy Mater. 7, 1701003 (2017). Athanasiou † , C. E., Fincher † , C. D. et al. Operando measurements of dendrite-induced stresses in ceramic electrolytes using photoelasticity. Matter (2023). Fincher C. D., et al. In prep. Figure 1: Operando birefringence imaging enables direct measurement of dendrite-induced stresses in solid-electrolytes. Pixel-by-pixel computational analysis allows measurement of the mechanical driving force for crack growth, (the strain energy release rate). 6 (a) Dendrites are grown through the plane of a thin LLZO solid electrolyte which was mechanically thinned to the point of translucency. A microscope is used to collect (b) polarized light images of dendrite propagation, and (c) spatially resolved measurements of the max shear stress in the solid electrolyte. The stress measurements in (c) correspond to the region enclosed by the dashed black box in (b) . The strain energy release rate is determined by fitting the experimentally determined stress field (c) to that expected analytically (d) , using as a fitting parameter. (e) The stress distribution measured along a line profile starting at the crack tip and ending at a point 45° (in red) and 90° (in blue) from the propagation direction. The solid and dashed lines series represent data from the experimental and computed analytic stress fields in c and d , respectively. The end points of the 45° and 90° profiles are shown as red and blue “X” symbols in c and d, respectively. Figure 1

  PublisherDOI

• Nanoparticle Superlattices with Non-Equilibrium Crystal Shapes

  Research Square · 2024-01-18 · 1 citations

  preprintOpen accessSenior author

  Abstract Nanoparticle assembly is a materials synthesis strategy that enables precise control of nanoscale structural features. Concepts from traditional crystal growth research have been tremendously useful in predicting and programming the unit cell symmetries of these assemblies, as their thermodynamically favored structures are often identical to atomic crystal analogues. However, these analogies have not yielded similar levels of influence in programming crystallite shapes, which are a consequence of both the thermodynamics and kinetics of crystal growth. Here we demonstrate kinetic control of colloidal crystal shape using nanoparticle building blocks that rapidly assemble over a broad range of concentrations, thereby producing well-defined crystal habits with symmetrically oriented dendritic protrusions and providing insight into the crystals’ morphological evolution. Counterintuitively, these non-equilibrium crystal shapes actually become more common for colloidal crystals synthesized closer to equilibrium growth conditions. This deviation from typical crystal growth processes observed in atomic or molecular crystals is shown to be a function of the drastically different timescales of atomic and colloidal mass transport, and thus this work provides design principles to expand the morphological diversity of nanoparticle superlattice crystal habits beyond the anhedral or equilibrium polyhedral shapes synthesized to date. Finally, we use this insight to synthesize crystallite shapes that have never before been observed, demonstrating the ability to both predict and program kinetically-controlled superlattice morphologies.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Operando Quantification and Visualisation of Dendrite-Induced Stresses in Ceramic Electrolytes Via Photoelasticity

  ECS Meeting Abstracts · 2023-08-28

  article

  The measurement of stress fields around lithium metal dendrites in solid electrolytes in operating conditions is critical for the design of next-generation, dendrite-resistant solid electrolytes. Prior work, both experimental and theoretical, indicates that the developed stresses in the in the electrolyte can be significantly high. However, direct stress measurements are still missing as they entail inherent experimental difficulties associated with probing stress fields at small scale brittle specimens operando. By employing the principle of photoelasticity combined with electrochemical cycling in a plan-view cell the aforementioned challenges are bypassed, allowing not only to track the stress field as the dendrite events progress, but also to obtain whole-field stress information on a propagating dendrite in an LLZTO electrolyte. This new experimental methodology allows for direct stress measurements around the dendrite tip. The experimental data demonstrate that the dendritic events at such current densities can be understood by the classic Griffith - Irwin fracture theory.

  PublisherDOI

• Operando measurements of dendrite-induced stresses in ceramic electrolytes using photoelasticity

  Matter · 2023 · 31 citations

  • Materials science
  • Composite material
  • Forensic engineering
  PublisherDOI

• (Invited) Chemomechanical Phenomena during Lithium Metal Plating

  ECS Meeting Abstracts · 2023-12-22

  article

  The stresses that evolve during plating and stripping in lithium metal electrodes can have a significant impact on battery performance. We have used several different in situ techniques to investigate these stresses, during electrochemical cycling with both liquid and solid electrolytes. Finite element modelling (FEM) was also employed to interpret many of these measurements. With liquid electrolytes, the experiments show that stresses are generally limited by plasticity in the lithium metal, and the FEM shows that these are too low to destabilize the Li / SEI interface. However, the properties of the SEI (including internal residual stresses) can lead to interfacial wrinkling in ways that lead to mechanical failure of the SEI films. Research on Li plating with oxide and sulfide solid electrolytes that exhibit different mechanical properties will also be presented. Here, the experimental results and corresponding FEM indicate that chemomechanical phenomena have a critical impact on stress evolution in the metal electrode, and on dendritic lithium metal penetration through solid electrolytes. A key difference between the oxides (e.g., LLZO) and sulfides (e.g., LPS glass and argyrodite) is the role of viscoplasticity in the latter. Approaches for controlling lithium dendrites based on chemical and microstructural modifications that impact stresses in the solid electrolytes will also be presented.

  PublisherDOI

• Understanding the Interplay between Electrochemistry and Mechanics at Dendrite Tips in Sulfide and Oxide Electrolytes

  ECS Meeting Abstracts · 2023-08-28

  article

  Dendrite-induced short circuits threaten the deployment of solid-state batteries with metal anodes. Whether dendrites grow by internal chemical reduction of lithium or because of mechanical stresses has been a topic of debate. For both oxide and electrolyte electrolytes, we address this question by conducting operando microscopy to observe mechanical and electrochemical phenomena underlying dendrite growth. Here, we build upon the method from Athanasiou-Fincher et al. to observe stress-optic couplings around dendrite tips in thin oxide electrolytes[1]. Specifically, operando measurements of dendrite-induced stress fields are measured as a function of applied potential, and then the images are quantitatively analyzed to measure the mechanical driving forces underlying failure (i.e., the energy release rate). These operando measurements demonstrate a complex interplay between electrochemistry and mechanics. We develop a mechanistic framework to describe the observed behavior, discussed in juxtaposition with stress-corrosion cracking and linear elastic fracture mechanics. The resulting implications for electrolyte testing and design are discussed. Lastly, we assess whether mechanical stresses in electrolytes can be used to “steer” the dendrite growth directory. By dynamically applying mechanical loads to growing dendrites in LLZTO, we show that dendrite growth trajectory can be deflected to avoid short-circuit failures in oxide electrolytes[2]. Together, these results demonstrate a complex relationship between electrochemical and mechanical driving forces. Despite the observed complexity, processing-induced residual stresses can deflect dendrites and avert short circuits. [1] CE Athanasiou = , CD Fincher = , C Gilgenbach, WC Carter, H Gao, YM Chiang, BW Sheldon. Manuscript in preparation. “On the Use of Photoelasticity for Operando Dendrite-Induced Stress Quantification in Ceramic Electrolytes,” 2022 Materials Research Society Fall Conference; manuscript in preparation. [2] CD Fincher, CE Athansiou, C Gilgenbach, MJ Wang, BW Sheldon, WC Carter, YM Chiang, “Controlling dendrite propagation in solid-state batteries with engineered stress,” Joule, in press. DOIs: 10.1016/j.joule.2022.10.011

  PublisherDOI

• Reversible Microscale Assembly of Nanoparticles Driven by the Phase Transition of a Thermotropic Liquid Crystal

  ACS Nano · 2023-05-24 · 15 citations

  articleOpen access

  The arrangement of nanoscale building blocks into patterns with microscale periodicity is challenging to achieve via self-assembly processes. Here, we report on the phase-transition-driven collective assembly of gold nanoparticles in a thermotropic liquid crystal. A temperature-induced transition from the isotropic to the nematic phase under anchoring-driven planar alignment leads to the assembly of individual nanometer-sized particles into arrays of micrometer-sized agglomerates, whose size and characteristic spacing can be tuned by varying the cooling rate. Phase field simulations coupling the conserved and nonconserved order parameters exhibit a similar evolution of the morphology as the experimental observations. This fully reversible process offers control over structural order on the microscopic level and is an interesting model system for the programmable and reconfigurable patterning of nanocomposites with access to micrometer-sized periodicities.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• Collaborative Research: Development of an Additive Selection Criteria based on Interface Complexions

  NSF · $250k · 2009–2012

Frequent coauthors

• Yet‐Ming Chiang

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  63 shared

• Brian W. Sheldon

  26 shared

• D. Chatain

  18 shared

• Cole D. Fincher

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  14 shared

• Tushar Swamy

  Stanford University

  12 shared

• Giovanna Bucci

  12 shared

• Kyle C. Smith

  10 shared

• Christos E. Athanasiou

  Providence College

  10 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Materials Science and Engineering

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  1990

• M.S., Materials Science and Engineering

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  1986

• B.S., Materials Science and Engineering

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  1983

Awards & honors

• 2017 Outstanding Educator Award, American Ceramic Society
• 2012 Wolfram Innovator of the Year, Wolfram Research
• 2008 MacVicar Distinguished Teaching Fellow, MIT
• 2008 Bose Award for Excellence in Teaching, MIT
• 2005 Richard M. Fulrath Award, American Ceramic Society