Li-ion Battery Materials

Energy conversion and storage is the research-theme of the group. Li-ion battery materials constitute one of the focus areas. We use first-principle based computation along with statistical thermodynamical tools to understand the phase stability, chemical potential of the guest species in the electrodes and the solid state diffusion process. Not only the bulk electrode or electrolyte materials, but we are also interested in looking at the interfacial phenomena of reconstruction and ion transfer. The synthesis and experimental verifications of the theoretical predictions are handled by our experimental collaborators.

Here are few sample publications on cathode, anode, electrolyte and interface in a lithium ion battery.

Computational Material Science

Computational material science is an exciting field where the state of the art computational tools equipped with fast and parallelizable computers can do wonders in terms of understanding the behaviour of materials and predicting new materials with intended properties. In this field, we use similar tools as described in case of Li-ion battery materials, but are not limited to a particular application area. Prediction of phase stability, crystal structure, synthesis condition-windows, ion tranfer mechanism etc. are the major points of interest.

Here is a sample publication in the area of computational material science.

Solar Energy Conversion

For a greener future of the earth, it is imperative that humanity shifts to the energy souces of non-carbon and renewable nature. Sunshine is one such source which provides effectively inexhaustible supply of energy at every nook and corner of the earth. Therefore, research focused towards the conversion technologies of solar energy is so very important in the present world. In our group, we endeavor to improve the efficiency of PV panels with concentration, tracking and proper thermal management. The solar thermal route of energy conversion is another less-explored area which we are interested in.

Here is a sample publication in the area of solar energy conversion.

Thermal Energy Storage

The major issue with the renewable sources of energy is the intermittency of availablity. It makes the storage an inseparable part of the energy system for its stand-alone application. The usual forms of storage are electrochemical and thermal. Thermal storage keeps the excess supply of heat in either sensible or latent heat forms. Here, in our group we explore different possibilities of various thermal storage forms for optimal performance for a given source profile. To develop theoretical tools for analysing such storages is another area our group is interested in.

Here are couple of publications in this area: paper1, paper2

Battery Thermal Management

With the shift of attention from fossil-fuel driven vehicles to the electric vehicles, the concern lies in the range and rate of the large battery packs for such vehicles. The collateral challenge to tackle these issues comes in the form of heat. Heat released by the battery packs during charge and dischage can take the temperature to an unsafe level where not only cells operate under low conversion efficiency, but also experience thermal runaway which is catastrophic for the pack as well as the vehicle itself. Therefore, it is mandatory to equip these battery packs with proper thermal management system for safe and efficient operation.In our group, we explore the field from theoretical, numerical and experimental angles.

Here are couple of publications in this area: paper1, paper2