Prof. Venkataraman Thangadurai is a professor and Chair in Energy at the School of Chemistry, University of St Andrews, Scotland. He is the inaugural Faraday Institution Adjunct Professor at the School of Chemistry, University of St Andrews. He obtained his BSc degree in chemistry from Sacred Heart College, Tirupattur, affiliated with the University of Madras, in 1989; MSc degree in Chemistry from Muthurangam Government Arts College, Vellore, affiliated to the University of Madras, in 1991. He did his Ph.D. in Solid State Chemistry from the Indian Institute of Science, in 1999. He did his PDF at the University of Kiel, Germany. He received a prestigious PDF fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Bonn, Germany. In 2004, Prof. Thangadurai received his Habilitation degree from the University of Kiel. In 2005, he moved to Canada to join the University of Calgary, where he served until June 2024. He has received the Keith Laidler Award (2016) and Research Excellence in Materials Chemistry Award (2021) from Canadian Society of Chemistry (CSC). He was elected fellow of The Electrochemical Society (USA) (2020), Royal Society of Chemistry (UK) (2014), and Royal Society of Canada (2023).

My research interests are the clean energy conversion and storage technologies, including solid oxide fuel cells, all-solid-state metal batteries, Li-S battery, redox flow batteries, and electrochemical methods for carbon removal and storage, and fundamental understanding of structure-composition-property relationship in solids. My current work involves design, synthesis and characterization of novel solid-state membranes, mixed ionic and electronic conductors, and metal electrodes for advanced solid state ionic devices. Some examples of area of work are:

• CO₂ and humidity-resistant solid-state ceramic proton conductors, fast oxide ion electrolytes, and mixed conductors based on perovskite and related structures for solid oxide fuel cells and electrolysis cells for hydrogen and ammonia production.
• Ceramic alkali ion conducting membranes for safe, robust and high energy density batteries and extreme weather conditions, inspired by Li-stuffed garnet electrolytes, to supersede conventional organic electrolyte-based batteries.
• Localized high concentration electrolytes for ultra long-life lithium metal and anode free batteries.  
• Aqueous and gel-type electrolytes for cost effective redox flow batteries
• Electrocatalysts to enhance the electrode kinetics of Li-S batteries using experimental and theoretical modeling techniques.  

Advanced electrochemical methods to remove CO₂ from atmosphere and safe storage in ocean. 

PhD Supervision (visiting graduate student)
FeiFei Lu

Solid State Ionics; Energy Storage & Conversion; Solid State Electrochemistry; Transport Properties; Solid Electrolytes and Electrodes; Solid State Batteries; Solid Oxide Fuel Cells; Lithium-Sulfur Battery; Sodium Battery; Carbon Capture and Storage

CH4442-CH5441 Honours Projects
CH4431 Scientific Writing