About

Guillermo J. Garcia Sanchez is a Professor of Law at Texas A&M University School of Law, where he has been a faculty member since 2017. His expertise encompasses international law, international trade, U.S.-Mexico energy relations, comparative law, international energy law, public international law, international business transactions, and international arbitration. His research interests include international petroleum transactions, arbitration in the hydrocarbons sector, the impact of human rights on the energy sector, U.S.-Mexico energy relations, and the international adjudication of energy disputes. Garcia Sanchez's educational background includes a J.S.D. from Harvard Law School, where he also served as a Visiting Researcher and Teaching Assistant, an LL.M. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and degrees in Law and International Relations from ITAM University in Mexico. His professional experience prior to academia includes practicing international investment arbitration at Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP, serving as a legal advisor at the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and working as an amicus curiae before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. He has also been involved in research projects related to offshore regulation of oil and gas resources in the Gulf of Mexico. Garcia Sanchez has received several awards, including the John Gallup Laylin Prize at Harvard Law School and a National Award on Energy and Development from USAID, University of Texas, and ITAM University. Outside of his professional pursuits, he enjoys scuba diving, wine tasting, dancing cumbia and tango, and cooking. His research continues to focus on the intersection of law and energy, with a particular emphasis on international petroleum transactions and energy disputes.

Research topics

• Chemistry
• Physical chemistry
• Materials science
• Thermodynamics
• Electrical engineering
• Engineering
• Inorganic chemistry
• Physics

Selected publications

• Chitosan‐Organic Acids Functionalized as an Effective Sustainable and Scalable Binder for Lithium Sulfur Batteries

  Energy Storage · 2026-01-09

  articleSenior author

  ABSTRACT This research focuses on enhancing chitosan's role as a binder in lithium‐sulfur (Li‐S) batteries through its modification with carboxylic acids. The structural analyses using FTIR and XRD reveal that incorporating specific poly‐substituted acids alters chitosan's molecular alignment and polymorph formation, inducing a mixture of Type I and Type II polymorphs. Mechanical testing shows that the Ch + Lactic binder provides improved toughness and ductility, properties essential for accommodating volume changes during Li‐S battery cycling. The electrochemical characterization demonstrates that chitosan‐aliphatic binders, particularly the Ch + Lactic binder, lead to higher specific capacities (e.g., 930 mAh·g −1 at C/10), improved rate capability, and notable long‐term cycling stability (0.057% capacity fade per cycle) compared to pristine chitosan. This enhanced performance is linked to more effective polysulfide management and structural integrity. Post‐mortem SEM analysis confirms the mechanical stability of the optimized cathodes, which remain crack‐free even after extensive cycling. This work illustrates that careful selection of carboxylic acids can effectively tailor chitosan's properties, contributing to the development of better performance of Li‐S battery technologies.

  PublisherDOI

• Role of Synthesis Conditions on Particle Growth and Physicochemical Properties of NixMnyCo1-x-y(OH)2 and LiNixMnyCo1-x-yO2 for Lithium-Ion Battery Cathode Applications

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2025-01-01

  preprintOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Insights into Structure‐Properties Relationship of Cationic Copolymers with Quaternary Ammonium Moieties via RAFT Polymerization as Potential Binders for Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

  Macromolecular Rapid Communications · 2025-11-02 · 1 citations

  article

  ABSTRACT In this work, the synthesis and structure/properties relationship of well‐defined linear and branched copolymers composed of vinylbenzyl trimethylammonium chloride (VBTMA‐C) and 2‐(acryloyloxy)ethyl trimethylammonium chloride (AETMA‐C) was investigated. Copolymers were obtained via reversible addition‐fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization in aqueous media at 70°C. Subsequently, chloride counterions were substituted by bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (TFSI), and copolymers were characterized. Infrared (IR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra confirm the chemical structure, while size exclusion chromatography (SEC) and rheological measurements highlight the influence of PAETMA moieties in electrostatic and inter‐intramolecular interactions of copolymers. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) points out the thermal stability of materials. In addition, copolymers with TFSI exhibit a glass transition temperature ( T g ) between 50°C and 87°C. X‐ray diffraction tests demonstrate a physical rearrangement of amorphous copolymers contained TFSI. Mechanical behavior of copolymers was evaluated, and results demonstrated high modulus (8.406 GPa), tensile strength (25.035 MPa), and toughness (0.214 MJm −3 ) of synthesized materials compared to values of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) with modulus (0.605 GPa), tensile strength (1.10 MPa), and toughness (0.021 MJm −3 ), respectively. These results confirm physicochemical features and great mechanical properties of the synthesized copolymers, opening the way for their uses as binders in cathodes for lithium–sulfur batteries.

  PublisherDOI

• The influence of Mn-ion doping on electrochemical properties of Li2Cu(1-2x) MnxO2 (x = 0–0.1)

  Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry · 2025-03-05 · 1 citations

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Exploring the morphology of LiFePO4 modified by ethylene glycol: An integrated computational-experimental study

  Surfaces and Interfaces · 2025-03-01 · 2 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Predicting Sodium-Ion Battery Performance through Surface Chemistry Analysis and Textural Properties of Functionalized Hard Carbons Using AI

  Materials · 2024-08-24 · 4 citations

  articleOpen access

  Traditionally, the performance of sodium-ion batteries has been predicted based on a single characteristic of the electrodes and its relationship to specific capacity increase. However, recent studies have shown that this hypothesis is incorrect because their performance depends on multiple physical and chemical variables. Due to the above, the present communication shows machine learning as an innovative strategy to predict the performance of functionalized hard carbon anodes prepared from grapefruit peels. In this sense, a three-layer feed-forward Artificial Neural Network (ANN) was designed. The inputs used to feed the ANN were the physicochemical characteristics of the materials, which consisted of mercury intrusion porosimetry data (SHg and average pore), elemental analysis (C, H, N, S), ID/IG ratio obtained from RAMAN studies, and X-ray photoemission spectroscopy data of the C1s, N1s, and O1s regions. In addition, two more inputs were added: the cycle number and the applied C-rate. The ANN architecture consisted of a first hidden layer with a sigmoid transfer function and a second layer with a log-sigmoid transfer function. Finally, a sigmoid transfer function was used in the output layer. Each layer had 10 neurons. The training algorithm used was Bayesian regularization. The results show that the proposed ANN correctly predicts (R2 > 0.99) the performance of all materials. The proposed strategy provides critical insights into the variables that must be controlled during material synthesis to optimize the process and accelerate progress in developing tailored materials.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Chitosan binders for sustainable lithium-sulfur batteries: Synergistic effects of mechanical and polysulfide trapping properties

  Electrochimica Acta · 2024-02-03 · 15 citations

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• In‐situ Polymerized Single Lithium‐ion Conducting Binder as an Integrated Strategy for High Voltage LNMO Electrodes

  Batteries & Supercaps · 2024-02-22 · 1 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Abstract Invited for this month's cover picture is the Electrochemical Energy laboratory at Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Iztapalapa in Mexico City in collaboration with ESIQIE IPN and ESFM IPN. The front cover displays a schematic representation of the in‐situ preparation of the electrode using single‐ion‐conductive binders; this process results in reduced degradation of both the LMNO electrode and electrolyte. In the background, there is an image of the landmark mural entitled “Death of Ignorance and Transformation of Society” by A. Belkin, located at the premises of UAM‐I, the institute where the primary research was conducted. The mural picture and logos are used with the permission of UAM president. The graphic composition is credited to D.G. Liliana Hidalgo Sánchez de Tagle. Read the full text of the Research Article at 10.1002/batt.202300383 .

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• A Review of Mexican Contributions to Li₂CuO₂ and its Chemical Modifications as Cathode Materials for Lithium-Ion Batteries

  Journal of the Mexican Chemical Society · 2024-09-30 · 1 citations

  reviewOpen accessSenior author

  Over the past few decades, battery research has primarily focused on reducing costs and increasing energy density. There have been significant efforts to identify alternative cathode materials that could replace cobalt-based ones, with the goal of finding more environmentally friendly and cost-effective options. In this context, copper-based cathodes have emerged as promising candidates. The appeal of copper-based cathodes lies in their relatively high abundance, particularly in Mexico, their high theoretical energy density, and the potential to enhance their properties by altering their chemical structure. In recent years, numerous research initiatives in Mexico have aimed to make Li2CuO2 cathodes a viable option. This review examines the recent advances and future perspectives of these efforts, with a particular emphasis on the latest attempts to modify the synthesis route and incorporate multiple dopants to create synergistic effects. Resumen. Durante las últimas décadas, la investigación sobre baterías se ha enfocado principalmente en la disminución de costos y el incremento de la densidad energética. Se han realizado importantes esfuerzos para identificar materiales catódicos alternativos que podrían reemplazar a los materiales basados en cobalto, con el objetivo de encontrar opciones rentables y con menor impacto al medio ambiente. En este contexto, los materiales catódicos basados en cobre se han convertido en candidatos prometedores. El interés por los cátodos basados en cobre radica en su abundancia relativamente alta, particularmente en México, su alta densidad energética teórica y la cualidad de mejorar sus propiedades alterando su estructura química. En los últimos años, numerosas propuestas de investigación en México han tenido como objetivo hacer de los cátodos de Li2CuO2 una opción viable. Este resumen recopila los avances recientes y las perspectivas a futuro de estos esfuerzos, con especial énfasis en los últimos intentos de modificar la ruta de síntesis y, a su vez, incorporar múltiples dopantes para crear efectos sinérgicos.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Impact of ball milling on the energy storage properties of LiFePO4 cathodes for lithium-ion batteries

  Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry · 2024-05-25 · 6 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Perla B. Balbuena

  Texas A&M University

  47 shared

• Ignacio González

  41 shared

• O. Solorza‐Feria

  39 shared

• Miguel A. Oliver‐Tolentino

  Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana

  27 shared

• Nicolas Alonso‐Vante

  Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

  15 shared

• Jiwei Ma

  Tongji University

  15 shared

• Gregorio Guzmán‐González

  15 shared

• Fernando Godínez-Salomón

  Texas State University

  11 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Law

  University of Texas at Austin

  2006

• Other, Law

  University of Texas at Austin

  2003

• B.A., Political Science

  University of Texas at Austin

  2000

Awards & honors

• John Gallup Laylin Prize, Harvard Law School Best Public Int…
• Summer Research Fellow, Harvard Law School (2014)
• National Award on Energy and Development, USAID, University…
• Academic Excellence Award, Best Law Thesis of ITAM Universit…
• Graduated with Honors, B.A. in Law at ITAM University (2009)