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RLRao Lab

Rao Lab

Research

Four connected themes, from new chemistry to the instruments that let us watch it happen.

01

Sodium-ion batteries

Cathodes and electrolytes that replace scarce lithium and cobalt with sodium, iron and manganese.

Sodium is a thousand times more abundant than lithium. We design layered and polyanionic cathodes that make sodium-ion cells competitive for grid storage.

  • Layered oxides that resist moisture and phase changes
  • Hard-carbon anodes from agricultural waste
  • Electrolytes that stay stable to 4.3 V
02

Solid-state electrolytes

Ceramic and polymer electrolytes that make batteries that cannot catch fire.

We study how ions hop through crystal lattices and how interfaces between solids degrade, so that solid-state cells can charge fast without growing dendrites.

03

Watching batteries work

Operando X-ray and spectroscopy methods that follow a battery’s chemistry while it charges.

Our custom cells fit synchrotron beamlines and lab-based instruments. They show where lithium plates, how cathodes crack and which reactions consume the electrolyte.

04

Batteries that last

Data-driven models that predict how long a cell will live from its first hundred cycles.

Combining physics with machine learning, we forecast ageing and design charging protocols that double the life of a cell.