
Overview
Background
My research focuses on materials for electrochemical energy systems, with a particular emphasis on electrochemistry, electron microscopy, and dabblings in the application of machine learning in materials discovery.
I joined the School of Mechanical & Mining Engineering at The University of Queensland (UQ) as a Lecturer in 2016 and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2020 and Associate Professor in 2023.
I earned my PhD in Chemical Engineering from UQ in 2007. Following this, I spent four years at DTU Energy (Technical University of Denmark) and five years at the Robinson Research Institute at Victoria University of Wellington.
My fundamental research interests include:
- Operando electron microscopy characterisation for electrochemical systems - electrolysers and batteries
- Development of novel battery materials, for sodium-based batteries including solid state batteries and anode free battery systems
- Understanding degradation mechanisms in electrochemical systems - a current focus on carbon dioxide electrolysis systems.
- Machine learning-driven material design.
My industry facing research interests include
- Development of printed batteries for health monitoring and logistics applications.
- Large-scale implementation of electrochemical energy systems for industry.
- Understanding fire safety for large-scale battery systems.
Availability
- Associate Professor Ruth Knibbe is:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland
Research interests
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Operando Electron Microscopy Characterisation for Electrochemical Systems
Characterising materials under near-operating conditions provides invaluable insights into their real-world behaviour. In electron microscopy, achieving operando characterisation is particularly challenging due to the high-vacuum environment of the microscope. For battery systems with liquid electrolytes, this requires encapsulating the cell while maintaining electron transparency—a demanding experimental task. However, the ability to observe nanoscale phenomena in real time offers a unique advantage, enabling the development of more efficient and durable battery technologies.
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Development of Novel Battery Materials
Sodium-based batteries, which includes solid state batteries and anode-free systems, represent the future of sustainable and high-performance energy storage. A key focus of our research is the development of novel materials to optimise electrode interfaces and enhance cathode performance. By engineering interfaces, we aim to improve slow interfacial kinetics to reduce degradation. These advancements are essential for overcoming current limitations in next-generation battery technologies and enabling their large-scale commercial adoption.
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Machine learning and robotics in new material design
Leveraging machine learning for materials discovery is critical in the design of next-generation functional materials. Despite extensive research into new materials for various applications, many commercial systems continue to rely on well-established compositions. With a wealth of experimental data available, machine learning holds significant potential for unlocking the design of superior alternatives. In addition, the development of robotic systems to assist in high-throughput synthesis is accelerating the discovery and optimisation of novel materials. This approach fosters interdisciplinary collaboration, bringing together expertise from fields such as machine learning and robotics to drive innovation in materials science.
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Understanding Fire Safety for Large-Scale Battery Systems
As energy storage systems scale up, safety becomes an increasingly critical concern. Research in this area is essential for developing safer battery technologies, mitigating thermal runaway risks, and ensuring regulatory compliance for grid-scale and industrial applications. This work is conducted in collaboration with fire safety experts to assess the unique fire risks associated with large-scale battery systems. By combining expertise, the goal is to develop strategies and technologies that enhance the safety of large-scale energy storage systems.
Works
Search Professor Ruth Knibbe’s works on UQ eSpace
Featured
2021
Journal Article
Sc, Ge Co-doping NASICON boosts solid state sodium ion batteries performance
Ran, Lingbing, Baktash, Ardeshir, Li, Ming, Yin, Yu, Demir, Baris, Lin, Tongen, Li, Meng, Rana, Masud, Gentle, Ian, Wang, Lianzhou, Searles, Debra J. and Knibbe, Ruth (2021). Sc, Ge Co-doping NASICON boosts solid state sodium ion batteries performance. Energy Storage Materials, 40, 282-291. doi: 10.1016/j.ensm.2021.05.017
Featured
2021
Journal Article
Zn electrodeposition by an in situ electrochemical liquid phase transmission electron microscope
Li, Ming, Ran, Lingbing and Knibbe, Ruth (2021). Zn electrodeposition by an in situ electrochemical liquid phase transmission electron microscope. The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 12 (2), 913-918. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.0c03475
Featured
2020
Journal Article
Biomimetic Sn4P3 anchored on carbon nanotubes as an anode for high-performance sodium-ion batteries
Ran, Lingbing, Luo, Bin, Gentle, Ian R., Lin, Tongen, Sun, Qiang, Li, Ming, Rana, Md Masud, Wang, Lianzhou and Knibbe, Ruth (2020). Biomimetic Sn4P3 anchored on carbon nanotubes as an anode for high-performance sodium-ion batteries. ACS Nano, 14 (7) acsnano.0c03432, 8826-8837. doi: 10.1021/acsnano.0c03432
Featured
2012
Journal Article
Co-electrolysis of steam and carbon dioxide in solid oxide cells
Ebbesen, Sune Dalgaard, Knibbe, Ruth and Mogensen, Mogens (2012). Co-electrolysis of steam and carbon dioxide in solid oxide cells. Journal of the Electrochemical Society, 159 (8), F482-F489. doi: 10.1149/2.076208jes
Featured
2010
Journal Article
Hydrogen and synthetic fuel production using pressurized solid oxide electrolysis cells
Jensen, Soren Hojgaard, Sun, Xiufu, Ebbesen, Sune Dalgaard, Knibbe, Ruth and Mogensen, Mogens (2010). Hydrogen and synthetic fuel production using pressurized solid oxide electrolysis cells. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 35 (18), 9544-9549. doi: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2010.06.065
Featured
2010
Journal Article
Solid oxide electrolysis cells: degradation at high current densities
Knibbe, Ruth, Traulsen, Marie Lund, Hauch, Anne, Ebbesen, Sune Dalgaard and Mogensen, Mogens (2010). Solid oxide electrolysis cells: degradation at high current densities. Journal of the Electrochemical Society, 157 (8), B1209-B1217. doi: 10.1149/1.3447752
2025
Journal Article
Elucidating sodium ion storage mechanisms in hard carbon anodes at the electronic level
Xia, Qingbing, Ko, Cheng‐Lin, Cooper, Emily R., Gu, Qinfen, Knibbe, Ruth and Harmer, Jeffrey R. (2025). Elucidating sodium ion storage mechanisms in hard carbon anodes at the electronic level. Advanced Functional Materials. doi: 10.1002/adfm.202421976
2025
Conference Publication
Studying electrodeposition of metals for understanding anode-free battery systems
Kadavil Subhash, Lakshmy and Knibbe, Ruth (2025). Studying electrodeposition of metals for understanding anode-free battery systems. 13th Asia Pacific Microscopy Congress, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, 2-7 February 2025. ScienceOpen. doi: 10.14293/apmc13-2025-0289
2025
Journal Article
Material needs for power-to-X systems for CO<sub>2</sub> utilization require a life cycle approach
Sahu, Aloka Kumar, Rufford, Thomas E., Ali, Saleem H., Knibbe, Ruth, Smart, Simon, Jiao, Feng, Bell, Alexis T. and Zhang, Xiwang (2025). Material needs for power-to-X systems for CO2 utilization require a life cycle approach. Chemical Science, 16 (14), 5819-5835. doi: 10.1039/d4sc07752k
2024
Journal Article
Advances and challenges in inorganic lithium solid electrolytes
Zheng, Zhong, Zhao, Hong, Knibbe, Ruth, Kotobuki, Masashi, Zhu, Xiaoyi, Lu, Li, Sun, Lixian and Liu, Zongwen (2024). Advances and challenges in inorganic lithium solid electrolytes. Chemistry of Inorganic Materials, 4 100078, 100078. doi: 10.1016/j.cinorg.2024.100078
2024
Journal Article
Revealing Epitaxial Deposition in Alkali Metal Batteries
Cooper, Emily, Otte, Joseph, Zheng, Zhong, Xia, Qingbing, Gentle, Ian R. and Knibbe, Ruth (2024). Revealing Epitaxial Deposition in Alkali Metal Batteries. Nano Letters, 24 (47), 15085-15091. doi: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.4c04331
2024
Journal Article
Investigation of age-hardening behaviour of Al alloys via feature screening-assisted machine learning
Hu, Mingwei, Tan, Qiyang, Knibbe, Ruth, Jiang, Bin, Li, Xue and Zhang, Ming-Xing (2024). Investigation of age-hardening behaviour of Al alloys via feature screening-assisted machine learning. Materials Science and Engineering: A, 916 147381, 1-12. doi: 10.1016/j.msea.2024.147381
2024
Journal Article
Monolayer Sodium Titanate Nanobelts as a Highly Efficient Anode Material for Sodium‐Ion Batteries
Xia, Qingbing, Liang, Yaru, Cooper, Emily R., Ko, Cheng‐Lin, Hu, Zhe, Li, Weijie, Chou, Shulei and Knibbe, Ruth (2024). Monolayer Sodium Titanate Nanobelts as a Highly Efficient Anode Material for Sodium‐Ion Batteries. Advanced Energy Materials, 14 (45) 2400929. doi: 10.1002/aenm.202400929
2024
Journal Article
Ink to power: an organic-based polymer electrolyte for ambient printing of flexible zinc batteries
Tao, Shiwei, Ramirez, Julio, Shewan, Heather M., Lyu, Miaoqiang, Gentle, Ian, Wang, Lianzhou and Knibbe, Ruth (2024). Ink to power: an organic-based polymer electrolyte for ambient printing of flexible zinc batteries. Advanced Functional Materials, 34 (37). doi: 10.1002/adfm.202402050
2024
Journal Article
Designing unique and high-performance Al alloys via machine learning: mitigating data bias through active learning
Hu, Mingwei, Tan, Qiyang, Knibbe, Ruth, Xu, Miao, Liang, Guofang, Zhou, Jianxin, Xu, Jun, Jiang, Bin, Li, Xue, Ramajayam, Mahendra, Dorin, Thomas and Zhang, Ming-Xing (2024). Designing unique and high-performance Al alloys via machine learning: mitigating data bias through active learning. Computational Materials Science, 244 113204, 113204. doi: 10.1016/j.commatsci.2024.113204
2024
Journal Article
Confining polymer electrolyte in MOF for safe and high‐performance all‐solid‐state sodium metal batteries
Zhang, Jinfang, Wang, Yuanyuan, Xia, Qingbing, Li, Xiaofeng, Liu, Bin, Hu, Tuoping, Tebyetekerwa, Mike, Hu, Shengliang, Knibbe, Ruth and Chou, Shulei (2024). Confining polymer electrolyte in MOF for safe and high‐performance all‐solid‐state sodium metal batteries. Angewandte Chemie, 136 (16). doi: 10.1002/ange.202318822
2024
Journal Article
ZIF-8-functionalized polymer electrolyte with enhanced performance for high-temperature solid-state lithium metal batteries
Zhang, Jin-Fang, Wang, Yuan-Yuan, Li, Xiao-Feng, Zhang, Gen-Yan, Li, Ying, Liu, Rong, Hu, Sheng-Liang, Hu, Tuo-Ping, Knibbe, Ruth and Xia, Qing-Bing (2024). ZIF-8-functionalized polymer electrolyte with enhanced performance for high-temperature solid-state lithium metal batteries. Rare Metals, 43 (3), 984-994. doi: 10.1007/s12598-023-02521-8
2024
Journal Article
Confining polymer electrolyte in MOF for safe and high-performance all-solid-state sodium metal batteries
Zhang, Jinfang, Wang, Yuanyuan, Xia, Qingbing, Li, Xiaofeng, Liu, Bin, Hu, Tuoping, Tebyetekerwa, Mike, Hu, Shengliang, Knibbe, Ruth and Chou, Shulei (2024). Confining polymer electrolyte in MOF for safe and high-performance all-solid-state sodium metal batteries. Angewandte Chemie (International Edition), 63 (16) e202318822, e202318822. doi: 10.1002/anie.202318822
2024
Journal Article
Correction to “Facilitating Sodium Nucleation in Anode-Free Sodium Batteries”
Cooper, Emily R., Li, Ming, Xia, Qingbing, Gentle, Ian and Knibbe, Ruth (2024). Correction to “Facilitating Sodium Nucleation in Anode-Free Sodium Batteries”. ACS Applied Energy Materials, 7 (2), 820-820. doi: 10.1021/acsaem.3c03025
2024
Journal Article
Low-coordinated surface nickel oxide as electrocatalyst for efficient water oxidation
Zhang, Jiayun, Su, Bing-Jian, Wu, Kuang-Hsu, Xia, Qingbing, Knibbe, Ruth and Gentle, Ian (2024). Low-coordinated surface nickel oxide as electrocatalyst for efficient water oxidation. Journal of Catalysis, 429 115278, 1-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jcat.2023.115278
Funding
Current funding
Supervision
Availability
- Associate Professor Ruth Knibbe is:
- Available for supervision
Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.
Available projects
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Design of membranes for lithium recovery and batteries.
Develop the next generation of metal-organic framework membranes that allows for fast and selective ion transport, which has important applications in critical minerals recovery and energy storage systems. Come join our growing group working on the leading edge of ion membrane design.
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Design of membranes for lithium recovery and batteries.
Develop the next generation of metal-organic framework membranes that allows for fast and selective ion transport, which has important applications in critical minerals recovery and energy storage systems. Come join our growing group working on the leading edge of ion membrane design.
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Advanced imaging of electrocatalysts for carbon dioxide conversion
Development of advanced electron microscopy methods to understand the behaviour of carbon dioxide electrolyser electrocatalysts.
Supervision history
Current supervision
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Doctor Philosophy
Developing Stable, Flexible and Scalable Zinc Batteries for Future Electronics
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Ian Gentle, Dr Miaoqiang Lyu
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Doctor Philosophy
Interface design in solid state batteries
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Ian Gentle
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Doctor Philosophy
Advanced imaging of CO2 electrochemical conversion materials.
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Tom Rufford
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Doctor Philosophy
In-situ characterisation of electrochemical energy systems
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Ian Gentle, Dr Qingbing Xia
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Doctor Philosophy
Design of New Conductive Nanoarchitectured Materials
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Yusuke Yamauchi
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Doctor Philosophy
Efficient and Sustainable Ni-Based Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Evolution Reaction
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Ian Gentle
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Doctor Philosophy
Design of New Wrought Aluminium Alloys with Improved Performance Assisted by Machine Learning
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Qiyang Tan, Professor Mingxing Zhang
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Doctor Philosophy
Materials for electrocatalysis
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Ian Gentle
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Doctor Philosophy
Design of New Conductive Nanoarchitectured Materials
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Yusuke Yamauchi
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Doctor Philosophy
Efficient and Sustainable Ni-Based Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Evolution Reaction
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Ian Gentle
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Doctor Philosophy
Additive manufacturing of H13 steel
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Qiyang Tan, Professor Mingxing Zhang
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Doctor Philosophy
CO2 electrolyser degradation mechanisms and accelerated testing methods
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Ray Bi, Professor Tom Rufford
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Doctor Philosophy
Development of a new electro-chemical technology to remove nitrate and heavy metals from groundwater for remote communities.
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Bernardino Virdis, Associate Professor Gilda Carvalho
Completed supervision
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2024
Doctor Philosophy
Developing Stable, Flexible and Scalable Zinc Batteries for Future Electronics
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Ian Gentle, Dr Miaoqiang Lyu
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2021
Doctor Philosophy
The Development of High-Performance Solid-State Sodium-Ion Batteries
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Lianzhou Wang
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2020
Doctor Philosophy
Functional materials to enable durable and high loading lithium-sulfur batteries
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Ian Gentle, Associate Professor Bin Luo
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2024
Doctor Philosophy
Design of New Wrought Aluminium Alloys with Improved Performance Assisted by Machine Learning
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Qiyang Tan, Professor Mingxing Zhang
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2023
Doctor Philosophy
Molybdenum Oxide Based Electrodes for Aqueous Electrochemical Energy Storage
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Tim Duignan
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2021
Doctor Philosophy
Development and Performance Evaluation of Abrasion-Resistant White Cast Irons Containing Macro-Additions of Niobium Carbide
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Jeff Gates
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2021
Doctor Philosophy
Effects of Microstructural Parameters and Abrasive Environment on Sliding Abrasion of Single-reinforced and Dual-reinforced White Cast Irons
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Jeff Gates
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2020
Doctor Philosophy
Design of New Two-dimensional Hybrid Materials for Lithium Sulfur Batteries
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Bin Luo, Professor Lianzhou Wang
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2020
Doctor Philosophy
Air Electrode Stability for Solid Oxide Cells
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor John Zhu
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2020
Doctor Philosophy
Development of CO2 Tolerant Cathode Materials for Low-Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor John Zhu
Media
Enquiries
Contact Associate Professor Ruth Knibbe directly for media enquiries about:
- Batteries
- Electrochemistry
- Electron microscopy
- Fuel cells
- Materials engineering
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