Lab Facilities • SSI Lab (Patro Group)
The Solid State Ionics Lab is equipped with state-of-the-art instruments for materials synthesis, structural characterisation, and electrochemical testing. Our in-house equipment is complemented by access to the SRM University AP Central Research Facility (CRF) for advanced characterisation.
High-Temperature Box Furnace
Capable of temperatures up to 1600 °C. Used for solid-state synthesis of ceramic electrolytes and cathode materials.
Tube Furnace (with Gas Control)
Controlled atmosphere sintering (Ar, N2, O2). Temperatures up to 1200 °C. Used for synthesis of air-sensitive materials.
Hydraulic Pellet Press
Uniaxial pressing (up to 10 tons) for pellet and coin cell electrode preparation.
Ball Mill (Planetary)
Mechanical mixing and milling for synthesis and particle size reduction of electrode and electrolyte powders.
Glove Box (Ar atmosphere)
Inert atmosphere enclosure (<1 ppm O2 and H2O) for assembly of coin cells, handling air-sensitive materials, and electrode preparation.
Magnetic Stirrer / Hot Plate
Used for solution-based precursor preparation, sol-gel synthesis, and polymer electrolyte casting.
Battery Cycler (Neware BTS)
Multi-channel potentiostat/galvanostat for galvanostatic charge-discharge, rate capability testing, and long-term cycling of coin and pouch cells.
Potentiostat/Galvanostat with EIS
Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (1 MHz – 10 mHz). Cyclic voltammetry, linear sweep voltammetry, and GITT measurements.
Temperature-Controlled EIS Setup
Ionic conductivity measurement of solid electrolyte pellets over a temperature range (−40 °C to 300 °C) using impedance spectroscopy.
X-ray Diffraction (XRD)
Rigaku SmartLab — Powder XRD, Rietveld refinement, in situ and operando XRD capabilities. Used for phase identification and lattice parameter determination.
Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM-EDS)
Field-emission SEM (FE-SEM) with EDS for morphological and compositional analysis of synthesised materials and cycled electrodes.
Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM)
High-resolution TEM (HR-TEM) and SAED for crystal structure and defect analysis. STEM-EDS for elemental mapping.
Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA-DSC)
Simultaneous TGA-DSC for studying thermal stability, decomposition kinetics, and phase transitions in battery materials.