Senior Lecturer
Dr Dipan Kundu
Engineering
School of Chemical Engineering
Dipan is an electrochemical energy storage expert with over ten years of experience in materials and cell chemistry development for diverse battery types - namely, Li-ion, Na-ion, Li-S, aqueous Zn-ion, and all-solid-state batteries. With expertise in electrode materials development and optimization, evaluation of structure-function relationships of electrodes, fundamental electrochemical studies, and cell design and development for battery research, his primary research focus is to understand and address the critical research problems hindering the practical development of batteries for electric vehicles and stationary storage applications.
Professional and Academic Affiliations
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Senior Lecturer, School of Chemical Engineering, UNSW Sydney : since 09/2019
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SNSF Ambizione Group Leader, Dept. of Materials, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zürich, Switzerland : 2017 - 2019
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Postdoctoral Scientist, University of Waterloo, Canada, with Prof. Linda F. Nazar : 2013 - 2016; Postdoctoral researcher, ETH Zurich (jointly with Belenos Clean Power AG), Switzerland : 2012 - 2013
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Doctoral studies (PhD), Dept. of Chemistry, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) - Zürich, Switzerland, with Prof. Reinhard Nesper, 2012
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M.S. (3 years), Chemical Sciences (Materials Science Specialization), Indian Institute of Science (IISc.), Bangalore, India, 2007
Entrepreneurial Experience
Founder and CTO of Salient Energy (Canada): 2015-2016; Dipan's postdoctoral work led to the foundation of this start-up.
- Publications
- Media
- Grants
- Awards
- Research Activities
- Engagement
- Teaching and Supervision
Check our team page Here
Present Research Interests
1. Understanding, development, and optimization of all-solid-state alkali metal (Li & Na) batteries and battery components using solid electrolytes.
Assessment of the kinetic stability of solid electrolytes under practical limits, concerning the choice of electrochemically active/nonactive components and operational conditions is the key focus here. Such studies are not only crucial for the device level integration of breakthrough solid electrolytes; they may shed light on unanticipated and unique phenomena of fundamental importance.
2. Development of novel inorganic and polymeric solid electrolytes with superior Li+/Na+ conductivity.
In the inorganic phase space, the aim is to develop novel compounds with dynamically and/or statically disordered structures (superionic conductors); in the polymer space, the development of single-ionic conducting membranes based on inexpensive polymers is the primary focus.
3. Aqueous rechargeable Zn (anode) batteries for large-scale (grid-storage, renewable, home) stationary storage applications.
Here, the motivation is to take our initial breakthrough forward through the understanding of failure mechanisms, electro-chemical optimization, and scale-up to foster the technology's commercial prospect.
4. Operando electrochemical analysis of battery materials and all-solid-state cell development for operando (X-ray and spectroscopy) analysis.
Mechanistic understanding of battery electrode materials is the key to improving their properties and hence, the battery performance. Operando/in-situ analyses of battery electrodes can provide a real-time understanding of the battery working principle and degradation mechanism of batteries. The focus in this area is to use a versatile operando electrochemical cell (home-made and validated) to elucidate key performance bottlenecks in some technologically important battery chemistries. Improvement and optimization of the cell design for broader applications is another important direction.
Research Output
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=MHValy8AAAAJ&hl=en
Opportunity for Doctoral (PhD) & Masters (Honors) Research
Exciting and challenging battery research projects are available for doctoral and master's and bachelor (A/B/C) thesis
Scholarship opportunities for domestic and international students.
Domestic: https://research.unsw.edu.au/domestic-research-scholarships
International: https://research.unsw.edu.au/international-research-scholarships
Specialized PhD programs and fellowships: https://research.unsw.edu.au/phd-programs
To apply and for further details, please reach d.kundu@unsw.edu.au
My Research Supervision
Doctoral studies: 1 completed in 2021 (ETH Zürich, Switzerland); 6 ongoing as primary and 2 as joint (UNSW)
Master's thesis: 5 completed (ETH Zürich, Switzerland), 1 completed (UNSW)
Bachelor thesis: 3 completed (ETH and UNSW), 2 ongoing (UNSW)
My Teaching
ENGG 3060: Faculty of Engineering - Maker Games (Term 2 & 3, 2020)
CEIC2005: Chemical Reaction Engineering (Summer Term 2020 & 2021 and Term 2: 2021 - present)
327-1203-00L: Complex Materials I – Synthesis and Assembly (Co-lecturer, ETH Zurich Materials, 2017 - 2018)