Research Interests

My research is focused on advancing high-energy-density energy storage solutions, bridging fundamental materials science with next-generation electrochemical systems. Key areas of interest include:

  • Solid-State Battery Technologies: Development and fabrication of scalable and safe all-solid-state lithium metal batteries.
  • Advanced Solid Electrolytes: Design and synthesis of halide, sulfide electrolytes; all-oxide solid-state batteries.
  • Electrode-Electrolyte Interface: Probing real-time phase transformations, lithium percolation pathways, and structural stability using operando synchrotron X-ray diffraction and advanced characterization techniques.
30
Publications
1
Granted Patent
700+
Synchrotron Hrs
7
Intl. Conferences

Education

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science
Indian Institute of Technology Indore | 2022 – present (Thesis submitted)

Thesis: Ceramic-Polymer Composite Electrolytes for Solid-State Lithium Batteries
CGPA: 9.71/10.0 (PhD Coursework)

Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Physics (Condensed Matter Physics)
Utkal University, Odisha, India | 2019 – 2021

Thesis: Squeezed Coherent States of Quantum Quartic Anharmonic Oscillator
CGPA: 8.69/10.0

Bachelor of Science (B.Sc. Honours) in Physics
Khaira Degree College, Balasore, Odisha, India | 2016 – 2019

CGPA: 9.03/10.0 (Institute Gold Medal Best Graduate Student - 2019)

Research Expertise

  • Materials Synthesis and Processing: Solid electrolytes (NASICON, garnet, sulphide, halide, polymer-ceramic composites); Solid-state, mechanochemical, sol-gel, wet-chemical synthesis; Spark plasma sintering; glovebox operation (M-Braun); quartz tube sealing; Coin cells, pouch cells, all-solid-state battery fabrication.
  • Advanced Characterization: Synchrotron XRD and XAS; laboratory XRD; SEM; XPS; Raman; FTIR; Galvanostatic cycling, CV, EIS, LSV, chronoamperometry, chronopotentiometry, GITT; DRT analysis; dielectric spectroscopy.
  • Computational and Software Skills: Programming (Fortran, C++); Analysis (TOPAS Academic, SoftBV, DRT Tools, Origin, EIS Analyzer); Visualization (VESTA, CasaXPS, Microsoft Office).

Experience & Teaching

Research Experience

Prime Minister's Research Fellow
IIT Indore | Jan 2023 – Present
  • Developed ceramic-polymer composite electrolytes achieving ionic conductivities >1 mS cm⁻¹, enabling room-temperature all-solid-state cell operation.
  • Synthesized halide and oxy-halide ionic conductors with conductivity >1 mS cm⁻¹.
  • Integrated cathode-electrolyte architectures using scalable fabrication.
  • Conducted 700+ hours of operando synchrotron XRD studies at national facilities (BARC).
Junior Research Fellow (SERB)
IIT Indore | Jun 2022 – Dec 2022
  • NASICON and garnet-type solid electrolyte synthesis.
  • Air-sensitive material handling and synthesis protocols.

Teaching Experience

  • Teaching Assistant: IIT Indore (Jul 2022-Present). Courses: Materials Science, Electrochemistry, Energy Storage Materials.
  • Guest Faculty (Physics): Government Holkar Science College (MP); Khaira Degree Government College (Odisha) (Jan 2023-Present).
  • Guest Faculty (Science): PM SHRI Kendriya Vidyalaya IIT Indore (Dec 2023-Nov 2024).

Honors, Awards, and Scholarships

  • Prime Minister's Research Fellowship (PMRF) - National fellowship for PhD research, India.
  • Junior Research Fellowship (JRF), SERB - Indian Institute of Technology Indore (2022), India.
  • E-Medhabruti Scholarship - Undergraduate scholarship, Odisha, India.
  • Pathani Samanta Mathematics Talent Award - High school, Odisha, India.
  • Institute Gold Medal - Best Graduate Student (2019), Khaira Degree College, Odisha, India.
  • 1st Rank in Physics - IMA Postgraduate Scholarship Examination (2020), Odisha, India.
  • Competitive Exams: GATE 2021 (AIR 900); JEST 2022 (AIR 394); CUET (PG) 2019 (AIR 65); JAM 2019 (AIR 1484).

Patent Details

Title: A HIGH-ENTROPY LI-STUFFED GARNET (HEG) SOLID ELECTROLYTE AND METHOD THEREOF

Inventors: Asish Kumar Das and Sunil Kumar

Applicant: Indian Institute of Technology Indore

Details: Indian Patent No. 572523 | Date of Grant: October 24, 2025

Publications (32 Total)

Includes 30 peer-reviewed journal articles (7 as first author), 1 under review, and 1 under preparation.

Key Publications

1.
Asish Kumar Das and Sunil Kumar
"In Situ Polymerization-Enabled Facile Electrode Interface in Solid-State Lithium-Metal Battery"
ACS Applied Electronics Materials, 0, acsaelm.5c01889 (2025)
DOI/Link: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsaelm.5c01889
2.
Asish Kumar Das and Sunil Kumar
"Compositionally Tuned High-Entropy Li-Garnet Electrolyte for Advanced Solid-State Batteries"
Batteries & Supercaps, 0, e202500358 (2025)
DOI/Link: https://chemistry-europe.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/batt.202500358
3.
Asish Kumar Das, Pratiksha Gami, Hari Narayanan Vasavan, Samriddhi Saxena, Neha Dagar, Sonia Deswal, Pradeep Kumar, and Sunil Kumar
"Advancing High-Energy Solid-State Batteries with High-Entropy NASICON Solid Electrolytes"
ACS Applied Energy Materials, 7:8301 (2024)
DOI/Link: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsaem.4c02011
4.
Asish Kumar Das, Manish Badole, Hari Narayanan Vasavan, Samriddhi Saxena, Pratiksha Gami, Neha Dagar, and Sunil Kumar
"Integrated Cathode-Electrolyte (Li6.55La3Zr1.55Ta0.45O12/PEO-LiTFSI) Architecture Driven Excellent Performance of Solid-State Lithium Metal Batteries"
Journal of Energy Storage, 94: 112452 (2024)
DOI/Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352152X24020383?via=ihub
5.
Asish Kumar Das, Manish Badole, Hari Narayanan Vasavan, Samriddhi Saxena, Pratiksha Gami, Neha Dagar, and Sunil Kumar
"LiTa2PO8-based Polymer-Ceramic Electrolyte Paved the way to High-Performance Solid-State Lithium Metal Batteries"
Energy & Fuels, 38: 11253 (2024)
DOI/Link: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.4c01520
6.
Asish Kumar Das, Manish Badole, Hari Narayanan Vasavan, Samriddhi Saxena, Pratiksha Gami, Sonia Deswal, Pradeep Kumar, and Sunil Kumar
"Enhancing room temperature performance of solid-state lithium cell via a facile solid electrolyte-cathode interface design"
Materials Today Sustainability, 26: 100758 (2024)
DOI/Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2589234724000940
7.
Asish Kumar Das, Manish Badole, Hari Narayanan Vasavan, Samriddhi Saxena, Pratiksha Gami, and Sunil Kumar
"Highly Conductive Ceramic-in-Polymer Composite Electrolyte Enabling Superior Electrochemical Performance for All-Solid-State Lithium Batteries"
Ceramics International, 49: 29719 (2023)
DOI/Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2023.06.214
8.
Hari Narayanan Vasavan, Samriddhi Saxena, Velaga Srihari, Asish Kumar Das, Pratiksha Gami, Neha Dagar, Sonia Deswal, Pradeep Kumar, Himanshu Kumar Poswal, and Sunil Kumar
"Elevating the Concentration of Na Ions to 1 in P2 Type Layered Oxide Cathodes"
Advanced Functional Materials, 2421733 (2025)
DOI/Link: https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202421733
9.
Pratiksha Gami, Asish Kumar Das, Manish Badole, Hari Narayanan Vasavan, Samriddhi Saxena, Neha Dagar, Sonia Deswal, Pradeep Kumar, Abhilash Dwivedi, Himanshu Kumar Poswal, and Sunil Kumar
"Fostering Li-ion Conduction in Zr-Sn-Al-based Mid-Entropy NASICON Electrolyte"
Ceramics International, 50: 47612 (2024)
DOI/Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272884224040744
10.
Pratiksha Gami, Asish Kumar Das, Hari Narayanan Vasavan, Samriddhi Saxena, Neha Dagar, and Sunil Kumar
"PVDF-HFP/PVP-based Miscible Blend Electrolyte for Fast-Charging Lithium Metal Batteries"
Electrochimica Acta, 536: 146840 (2025)
DOI/Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0013468625012009
11.
Asish Kumar Das and Sunil Kumar
"In Situ Polymerized Interface Modulation Drives Spark Plasma Sintered Garnet Electrolyte-based Solid-State Lithium Metal Batteries"
(Under Review)
12.
Asish Kumar Das and Sunil Kumar
"Effect of Precursor Combinations on the Electrical and Electro-chemical Performance of Oxy-halide Electrolytes"
(Under Preparation)

Other Publications

13.
Samriddhi Saxena, Velaga Srihari, Karthik Chinnathambi, Asish Kumar Das, Pratiksha Gami, Sonia Deswal, Pradeep Kumar, Himanshu Kumar Poswal, and Sunil Kumar
"Compositional tuning of Fe/Mn and Fe/Ni ratios in P3-type cathodes enables high energy density sodium-ion batteries"
Materials Today Energy, 53: 102048 (2025)
DOI/Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtener.2025.102048
14.
Samriddhi Saxena, Hari Narayanan Vasavan, Neha Dagar, Velaga Srihari, Asish Kumar Das, Pratiksha Gami, Sonia Deswal, Pradeep Kumar, Himanshu Kumar Poswal, and Sunil Kumar
"Strategic Phase Modulation in Na0.8 (Mn-Fe-Ni) O2 System Delivers High Energy Density and Structural Stability"
Journal of Power Sources, 644: 237115 (2025)
DOI/Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2025.237115
15.
Neha Dagar, Samriddhi Saxena, Hari Narayanan Vasavan, Asish Kumar Das, Pratiksha Gami, Sonia Deswal, Pradeep Kumar, Karthik Chinnathambi, Vikram Rathee, and Sunil Kumar
"Ti-substitution Facilitating Anionic Redox and Cycle Stability in P2-type Na2/3Mn2/3Ni1/3O2 Na-ion Battery Cathode"
Energy & Fuels, 39: 3348 (2025)
DOI/Link: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.4c05945
16.
Samriddhi Saxena, Hari Narayanan Vasavan, Neha Dagar, Karthik Chinnathambi, Velaga Srihari, Asish Kumar Das, Pratiksha Gami, Sonia Deswal, Pradeep Kumar, Himanshu Kumar Poswal, and Sunil Kumar
"Probing the Compositional and Structural Effects on the Electrochemical Performance of Na(Mn-Fe-Ni)O2 Cathodes in Sodium-Ion Batteries"
Battery Energy, e70018 (2025)
DOI/Link: https://doi.org/10.1002/bte2.20240083
17.
Pratiksha Gami, Manish Badole, Asish Kumar Das, Hari Narayanan Vasavan, Samriddhi Saxena, Neha Dagar, and Sunil Kumar
"PVP incorporation effects on the structural, thermal, electrical, and mechanical properties of PVDF-HFP/PVP blend"
Journal of Polymer Research, 32: 94(2025)
DOI/Link: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10965-025-04321-3
18.
Pratiksha Gami, Manish Badole, Hari Narayanan Vasavan, Asish Kumar Das, Samriddhi Saxena, Neha Dagar, Velaga Srihari, and Sunil Kumar
"NASICON-type medium entropy Li1.5Sn1.0Al0.5Zr0.5(PO4)3 electrolyte for solid state Li metal batteries"
Journal of Power Sources, 618: 235214 (2024)
19.
Neha Dagar, Samriddhi Saxena, Hari Narayanan Vasavan, Asish Kumar Das, Pratiksha Gami, Sonia Deswal, Pradeep Kumar, and Sunil Kumar
"Distinct electrochemical behavior of P3 and P2 polytypes of Mn/Ni-based Na-ion battery cathode"
Materials Letters, 369: 136768 (2024)
DOI/Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matlet.2024.136768
20.
Samriddhi Saxena, Manish Badole, Hari Narayanan Vasavan, Velaga Srihari, Asish Kumar Das, Pratiksha Gami, Neha Dagar, Sonia Deswal, Pradeep Kumar, Himanshu Kumar Poswal, and Sunil Kumar
"Elucidating the Electrochemical Behaviour of a P3-type High Na Content Cathode"
Energy & Fuels, 38: 12140 (2024)
DOI/Link: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.4c01476
21.
Hari Narayanan Vasavan, Manish Badole, Samriddhi Saxena, Velaga Srihari, Asish Kumar Das, Pratiksha Gami, Neha Dagar, Sonia Deswal, Pradeep Kumar, Himanshu Kumar Poswal, and Sunil Kumar
"Rational Design of an Optimal Al-substituted Layered Oxide Cathode for Na-ion Batteries"
Electrochimica Acta, 494: 144457 (2024)
22.
Hari Narayanan Vasavan, Manish Badole, Samriddhi Saxena, Velaga Srihari, Asish Kumar Das, Pratiksha Gami, Neha Dagar, Sonia Deswal, Pradeep Kumar, Himanshu Kumar Poswal, and Sunil Kumar
"Identification of Optimal Composition with Superior Electrochemical Properties Along the Zero Mn3+ Line in Na0.75(Mn-Al-Ni)O2 Pseudo Ternary System"
Journal of Energy Chemistry, 96: 206 (2024)
DOI/Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jechem.2024.04.015
23.
Pratiksha Gami, Manish Badole, Hari Narayanan Vasavan, Asish Kumar Das, Samriddhi Saxena, and Sunil Kumar
"Y-doped LiZr2(PO4)3 in PVDF-HFP Composite Electrolyte for Solid State Li Metal Batteries"
ACS Applied Engineering Materials, 2: 1278 (2024)
DOI/Link: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsaenm.4c00076
24.
Manish Badole, Hari Narayanan Vasavan, Samriddhi Saxena, Asish Kumar Das, Pratiksha Gami, and Sunil Kumar
"Remarkable Enhancement in Piezoelectric Performance of [001] Textured Na0.4K0.1Bi0.5TiO3 Ceramic"
Materials Research Bulletin, 176: 112841 (2024)
DOI/Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.materresbull.2024.112841
25.
Samriddhi Saxena, Manish Badole, Hari Narayanan Vasavan, Velaga Srihari, Asish Kumar Das, Pratiksha Gami, Sonia Deswal, Pradeep Kumar, and Sunil Kumar
"Deciphering the role of optimal P2/03 phase fraction in enhanced cyclability and specific capacity of layered oxide cathodes"
Chemical Engineering Journal, 485: 149921 (2024)
DOI/Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2024.149921
26.
Manish Badole, Hari Narayanan Vasavan, Samriddhi Saxena, Asish Kumar Das, Pratiksha Gami, and Sunil Kumar
"Grain morphology-dependent dielectric and piezoelectric properties of lead-free KBT ceramics"
Journal of the American Ceramic Society, 107: 2304 (2024)
DOI/Link: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jace.19551
27.
Hari Narayanan Vasavan, Manish Badole, Samriddhi Saxena, Velaga Srihari, Asish Kumar Das, Pratiksha Gami, Sonia Deswal, Pradeep Kumar, and Sunil Kumar
"Impact of P3/P2 Mixed Phase on the Structural and Electrochemical Performance of Na0.75Mn0.75Al0.25O2 Cathode"
Journal of Energy Storage, 74: 109428 (2023)
DOI/Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.est.2023.109428
28.
Hari Narayanan Vasavan, Manish Badole, Samriddhi Saxena, Velaga Srihari, Asish Kumar Das, Pratiksha Gami, Sonia Deswal, Pradeep Kumar, and Sunil Kumar
"Unveiling the Potential of P3 Phase in Enhancing the Electrochemical Performance of a Layered Oxide Cathode"
Materials Today: Energy, 37: 101380 (2023)
DOI/Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtten.2023.101380
29.
Manish Badole, Hari Narayanan Vasavan, Samriddhi Saxena, Asish Kumar Das, Pratiksha Gami, Deepu Kumar, Pradeep Kumar, and Sunil Kumar
"High-Performance [001]-Textured BiAlO3-Doped K0.5Bi0.5TiO3 Ceramics"
ACS Applied Electronic Materials, 5: 3436 (2023)
DOI/Link: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acsaelm.3c00434
30.
Samriddhi Saxena, Hari Narayanan Vasavan, Manish Badole, Asish Kumar Das, Sonia Deswal, Pradeep Kumar, and Sunil Kumar
"Tailored P2/03 Phase-dependent Electrochemical Behavior of Mn-based Cathode for Sodium-ion Batteries"
Journal of Energy Storage, 64: 107242 (2023)
DOI/Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.est.2023.107242
31.
Hari Narayanan Vasavan, Manish Badole, Samriddhi Saxena, Asish Kumar Das, Sonia Deswal, Pradeep Kumar, and Sunil Kumar
"Excellent Structural Stability-Driven Cyclability in P2-Type Ti-Based Cathode for Na-Ion Batteries"
ACS Applied Energy Materials, 6: 2440 (2023)
DOI/Link: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsaem.2c03750
32.
Manish Badole, Hari Narayanan Vasavan, Samriddhi Saxena, Asish Kumar Das, Velaga Srihari, and Sunil Kumar
"Piezoelectric Properties and Structural Evolution in La- and Al-Modified K0.5Bi0.5TiO3 Ceramics"
Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 944: 169204 (2023)
DOI/Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2023.169204

Conference Presentations

  • Best Thesis Presentation PhD thesis presentation at the Research and Industrial Conclave (RIC) 2026, IIT Indore, MP, India.
    https://rcon.iiti.ac.in/
  • Best Oral Award Oral presentation at the International Meeting of the Battery Research Society (IMBRS 25), The Hilton Convention Center, Bangalore, India (Dec 2025).
    https://www.imbrs25.com/
  • Oral presentation at the International Conference on Materials for Advanced Technologies (ICMAT) 2025, Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre, Singapore (July 2025).
    https://icmat2025.mrs.org.sg/
  • Best Poster Award Poster presentation at the International Conference on Sustainable Batteries (ICSB) 2025, TCG CREST, Kolkata, India.
    https://www.tcgcrest.org/icsb-2025/
  • Oral presentation at the International Conference on Energy and Environmental Materials (E2M-2024), IIT Indore, MP, India (July 2024).
    https://e2m.iiti.ac.in/
  • Poster presentation at the 2nd International Meeting on Energy Storage Devices (IMESD) 2023, IIT Roorkee, Uttarakhand, India (December 2023).
    https://www.imesd2023.com/
  • Poster presentation at International Union of Materials Research Societies Conference in Asia (IUMRS-ICA) 2022, IIT Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India (December 2022).
    http://iumrs.iitj.ac.in/
  • Poster presentation at International Conference on Frontiers in Materials Engineering (ICFME) 2022, IIT Indore, Indore, India (December 2022).
    https://icfme2022.iiti.ac.in/

Professional Service & Additional Information

  • Peer Reviewer: IOP Publishing and ACS Publications journals.
  • Volunteering: Multiple international and national conferences at IIT Indore.
  • Membership: The American Ceramic Society Graduate-Grads Research Network.
  • Languages: English (fluent), Hindi (fluent), Odia (native).
  • Collaborations: IIT Mandi, national synchrotron facilities (BARC).
  • Interests: Cricket, volleyball, cycling, reading, debating, cultural activities.