Date/Time: 9th of December 2025, Tuesday, 11:00 AM
Venue: SV Narasaiah Auditorium, IAP Main building
Abstract:
Developing high-performance micro-batteries is critical for powering diverse smart devices such as medical implants, micro-robots, microsensors, and Internet of Things (IoT) applications. A key strategy involves printing both the anode and cathode on a single substrate, eliminating separators and enabling compatibility with on-chip microelectronics. This design not only simplifies integration but also maximizes the available surface area in compact spaces, thereby enhancing energy density. Despite these advancements, current micro-batteries face significant challenges, particularly in integrating high-capacity active materials into micro-electrodes, which limits energy density in small-scale devices. Additionally, safety concerns – especially in Li-ion micro-batteries – persist. To overcome these issues, innovative designs are essential, focusing on advanced and safer micro-electrodes, the development of durable current collectors, and addressing key limitations in their realization. In this talk, I will present solutions to these challenges, including the integration of advanced, highly porous scaffold-based interdigitated electrodes as micro-current collectors, along with effective loading of energy materials onto micro-scale on-chip current collectors. The primary focus will be on Zn-based energy storage systems, offering safer and more efficient micro-scale energy solutions. I will also explore future challenges related to micro-electrodes and the obstacles to their practical implementation in advanced energy storage systems.
Selected References
- N Naresh, Y Fan, Y Zhu, T Wang, S Li, IP Parkin, M De Volder, B D Boruah,* Advanced Functional Materials, 2025, 10.1002/adfm.202507537
- Y Fan, N Naresh, Y Zhu, M Wang, B D Boruah,*ACS Nano 2025, 19, 13314.
- X Liu, R Wu, X Hu, AM Ganose, J Luo, I Pinnock, N Naresh, Y Zhu, Y Fan, T Wang, S Li, I P Parkin, B D Boruah,* ACS Nano, 2025, 19, 26147.
- N Naresh, Y Zhu, J Luo, Y Fan, T Wang, K. Raju, M De Volder, I P. Parkin, B D Boruah,* Advanced Functional Materials2025, 35, 2413777.
- N Naresh,1 Y Zhu, Y Fan, J Luo, T Wang, I P. Parkin, B D Boruah,* Nano Letters, 2024, 24, 11059.
- Y Fan, I Pinnock, X Hu, T Wang, Y Lu, R Li, M Wang, I P Parkin, M De Volder, B D Boruah,* Nano Letters 2024, 24, 10874.
- Y Fan, T Wang, R Asrosa, B Li, N Naresh, X Liu, S Guan, R Li, M Wang, I P Parkin, B D Boruah,* Chemical Engineering Journal 2024, 488, 150672.
Biography:
Dr. Buddha Deka Boruah is an Associate Professor at the Institute for Materials Discovery, University College London (UCL), UK. He completed his B.Sc. in Physics at Cotton College, Assam, India (2011), and his M.Sc. in Physics at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati, India (2013). He earned his M.S. (Engineering)-Ph.D. from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, India, in 2018. Before joining UCL in 2022, Dr. Boruah was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Cambridge. His research focuses on developing advanced battery electrodes and micro-batteries – the next generation of energy storage devices for the Internet of Things (IoT) and on-chip-powered systems. Dr. Boruah has published more than 60 research articles at this early stage of his career, and his work has been featured in over 20 international Research Highlights and News outlets, including Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), ChemistryViews, Chemistry World, Phys.org, Advanced Batteries & Energy Storage Research, Graphene-Info, Environmental News Bits, and Lithium News, among others. He has received numerous prestigious awards, including the Rising Star Award (Wiley), the Newton International Fellowship (Royal Society, UK), and the KVRSS Young Scientist Research Award, among others. Dr. Boruah is a Member of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (MIMMM, IOM3, UK), serves on the Early Career Editorial Advisory Board of APL Electronic Devices, and is a Member of the Engagement Advisory Group at the Royal Society.