Dr. Sudeshna Chandra 

Today, energy conservation and enhancing the performance of energy storage devices is of utmost importance for sustainable development. The majority of available energy storage devices and solutions are not delivering the desired performance and therefore, have limited commercial use. Recent technological advancements help in creating inorganic nanomaterials that are capable of delivering the desired performance in energy storage devices. These nanomaterials are environmentally benign and act as effective electrode materials in electrochemical energy devices. Although research in inorganic nanomaterials as electrode material has progressed in recent years, it has yet to reach commercialization. A thorough understanding of changes in metal oxidation state and their associated charged structure with specific counter-ions is required to elucidate the mechanism underneath electrochemical storage activity. The crystal structure and ionic conductivity of inorganic nanomaterial directly influences the charge storage capacity of energy device. In my project, I am planning to use a new nanocomposite of zinc sulfide and copper sulfide (ZnS-CuS) as electrode material. I will use scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) to understand reaction kinetics and perform electrochemical characterization at higher spatial resolution. Thus, we can elucidate the efficacy of the nanomaterial and devise strategies to enhance electrochemical performance up to desired levels.