Braja K. Mandal

Braja K. Mandal is a Professor of Chemistry at the Lewis College of Science and Letters, Illinois Institute of Technology. His research focuses on energy storage systems, particularly lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries and supercapacitors. He leads efforts to enhance Li-S battery performance through novel encapsulation strategies for polysulfide intermediates, including MnO₂-coated cathodes and ultra-thin AlF₃ coatings. His supercapacitor research emphasizes hybrid designs combining high surface area carbon hosts with pseudocapacitive coatings like MoS₂ and NiO to achieve high energy density.

Education: B.Sc. (University of Calcutta), M.Sc. (Indian Institute of Technology), M.Tech. (Indian Institute of Technology), Ph.D. (Indian Institute of Technology).

Current research includes synthesizing transition metal chalcogenides (Ni₀.₈₅Se, MoSe₂) for Li-S cathode coatings and doping mesoporous carbon with metal atoms to improve redox kinetics. His supercapacitor work targets 3.75 V operation with high capacitance. Recent achievements include a hybrid supercapacitor with 130.5 F/g capacitance and 47.9 Wh/kg energy density.

Lab activities involve polymer electrolyte development and ionic liquid formulations. Collaborations include designing low-viscosity sulfonium ionic liquids and crosslinked polystyrene-based solid electrolytes. Future work aims to explore Ni₀.₈₅Se and MoSe₂ encapsulation in Li-S systems and improve carbon host doping techniques.