Comparing Sodium-ion Batteries Lithium-ion batteries across

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  There have been concerns regarding the dwindling supply of lithium. The increasing demand for batteries in Electric vehicles, energy storage grids, and consumer electronics, and the high cost of lithium and other raw materials used in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). A possible alternative for LIBs is sodium-ion batteries (SIBs), owing to their similar properties. This review article compares LIBs’ and SIBs’ operating principles. I then look at the properties of SIBs and LIBs; we compare these battery technologies across three applications: grid storage, electric vehicles, and consumer electronics. The research was done in the form of a literature review, where I found that SIBs are most suitable for grid storage. They could see some applications in electric vehicles, but they are not viable for consumer electronics. For commercialization, there needs to be a rise in the energy density of SIBs and a fall in their cost, which is why future studies on SIBs should be focused on the same. This paper goes through various sources and should provide an idea of where SIBs could potentially replace LIBs.

My Mentor for this research endeavor was Stepan Ozerov, a PhD candidate from Purdue University. This paper is currently under the publication at the International Journal of High School Research.

 At Ahmedabad University, under the mentorship of Prof. Sham Gurav, I am researching and synthesizing biodegradable polymers with tensile strength at least 20% greater than current biodegradable plastics. This work aims to develop commercially viable alternatives that can effectively replace traditional biodegradable plastics, driving sustainability and innovation in materials science.

In order to accomplish this, I am deep diving into polymer synthesis, inter-chain bonds and general intermolecular forces in polymer chemistry to find the healthy balance between usable for the consumer, but safe for the planet.