Spanish National Research Council

CSIC (Spanish National Research Council) is Spain’s largest public research institution, ranks third amongst Europe’s research organizations, produces 20% of the Spanish national scientific output.

The Institute of Materials Science of Barcelona (ICMAB-CSIC) is a CSIC research institute in Advanced Functional Materials in the fields of energy, electronics and nanomedicine and involves 65 permanent researchers and ca. 140 students/postdocs (15 PhDs/year). ICMAB-CSIC has twice been awarded with the label of Center of Excellence “Severo Ochoa”) by the Spanish Ministry (2016-2019 & 2020-2023) and has an outstanding international competitiveness.
Battery research is one of the main activities within the Solid State Chemistry Department, with a tradition in tailoring structure and microstructure of electrode materials to maximise electrochemical performance for conventional technologies and in the development of new materials for emerging technologies. More recently, emphasis is also placed in the use of operando techniques to elucidate reaction mechanisms.

SCIENTIFIC TEAM

M. Rosa PALACIN (Principal Investigator)

Prof. M. Rosa Palacín received her PhD degree in 1995 from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and further joined Laboratoire de Réactivité et Chimie des Solides in Amiens (France) as postdoctoral fellow under the direction of Prof. Jean-Marie Tarascon. She was appointed as staff research at ICMAB-CSIC in 1999 and full professor since 2018. Her research career has been fully focused in solid state chemistry (synthesis and crystal chemistry) and electrochemistry applied to batteries and covered a wide diversity of technologies with either aqueous or organic electrolytes. These include already commercial (e.g. Ni or Li-ion) or pre-commercial (Na-ion) concepts, as well as new emerging chemistries such as those based on Mg or Ca.

Ashley BLACK

Dr. Ashley P. Black obtained his PhD degree in 2017 from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and is a staff researcher at ICMAB-CSIC since January 2024. He is specialist in solid state chemistry covering synthesis and structural characterization of functional solid materials (oxides and nitrides amongst other) with a range of different properties. His most recent research activity is focused in operando studies on batteries, using diverse techniques (diffraction, absorption, etc.) mostly synchrotron related, and developing new methodologies and setups for elucidation of redox mechanisms.

Ishita BISWAS (DC09)

Ishita Biswas is a researcher specializing in materials science and battery technology. Her work is focused on developing innovative solutions for high energy density sodium-ion batteries. She has a solid background in Physics and materials science and has made notable contributions to the field, particularly in sodium-ion battery technology. During masters at IIT Bombay, she optimized battery chemistry and electrode materials to enhance performance metrics such as cycle life, rate capability, and stability. She has also contributed to launching sodium-ion batteries with an impressive energy density in an organization working on automotive solutions. In addition to her achievements in sodium-ion batteries, Ishita has delved into various aspects of electrochemical energy storage. Her exposure in employing characterization techniques such as SEM, XRD, etc. has been crucial in advancing the research and optimizing material performance.
Currently, Ishita is driven by the goal of solving the challenges in high energy density batteries. Her research aims to explore cathode materials dedicated for sodium-ion batteries.
When not working on batteries and chemicals, Ishita enjoys photography, travelling, and cooking.

Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Campus de la UAB, Carrer dels Til·lers, s/n, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Espagne