Research Interest

• Electrochemical Energy Storage Materials and Devices
• Battery Technology for Electric Vehicles
• Solid State Chemsitry, Materials Science, Electrochemistry, Hydrogen Generation
• Sustainable Carbon & Graphite Materials, Metal Oxide Materials,
• Material chemistry, Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology
• Li/ Na-ion Batteries, Supercapacitors, Hybrid Capacitors, Solid State Batteries
• Prototype Device Fabrication, Battery Manufacturing, Characterization, testing and Validation

  Academic Background

• Ph. D in Chemistry: Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
• M.Sc in Chemistry: Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, Puttaparthi, Andhra Pradesh, India
• B.Sc. (Hons) in Chemistry: Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, Brindavan Campus, Bangalore, Karnataka, India

  Professional Experience

• 2023 - Present: Assistant Professor at Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bhilai, Chhattisgarh, India
• 2023 - Present: Adjunct Assistant Professor at Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bhilai, Chhattisgarh, India
• 2022 - 2023: Senior Manager - Principal Cell Engineer at OLA Electric Technologies Pvt Limited, Bangalore, Karnataka, India
• 2021 - 2022: Scientist C at International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI), Hyderabad, Telangana, India
• 2017 - 2020: Project Scientist B at International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI), Hyderabad, Telangana, India

  Awards:

• Recipient of ANRF-International Travel Grant to attend and give a talk in the 249th ECS Meeting at Seattle, USA, May 24-28, 2026
• Selected by DST, Gov. of India to participate in ESTIC-2025 under the category of Young S&T Leaders (below 45 years)" 03-05th November 2025 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. The ESTIC 2025 Conclave is inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi
• Selected as a winner in the Change Maker Award - Academia category in Making India Employable Conference and Awards 2025, 07th November 2025, Mumbai.
• Awarded Prof Werner Prize for the best Ph. D thesis in Chemistry during the 57th convocation of IIT Madras
• Qualified in a global competition among young scientists worldwide to participate in the 71st Lindau Nobel Laureates Meeting at Lindau, Germany, June-July 2022
• Recipient of DST-DFG award from Government of India to attend the Lindau Nobel Laureates Meeting 2022
• Selected with Institute Research Award for Excellence in research work by IIT Madras
• Recipient of Young Scientist award in Chemistry for the year 2019 from Dr. K.V. Rao Scientific Society, Hyderabad, India
• Recipient of Travel grant from TRC-Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India to attend the 235th ECS Meeting at Dallas, USA, May-June 2019
• Award for Best Poster presentation at “Battery Technologies & Electric Mobility” conference, organized by HP Green R & D Centre, Bangalore, March 2018
• Award for Best Oral presentation at “National Conference on Carbon Materials 2015” conference, organized by NPL Delhi & Indian Carbon Society at New Delhi, November 2015
• Awarded Senior Research Fellowship,, Dept. of Science and Technology, Govt. of India
• Qualified Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) in Chemistry
• Qualified CSIR-JRF, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in Chemsitry

  Sponsored Projects

• Integrating ball-milled nano-LMFP with dry electrode technology to establish a scalable route for high-voltage, sustainable lithium-ion battery manufacturing, sponsored by Prime Minister Early Career Research Grant (PMECRG), ANRF, Project duration : 2026-2029, Project cost : Rs 71.90 lakhs, Role : Principal Investigator
• Sustainable and Scalable Development of Functional Materials for next Generation Sodium-ion based Energy Storage Technologies, funded by New & Emerging Storage Technology (NEST) Scheme, DST, Project duration : 2026-2028, Project cost : Rs 120 lakhs, Role : Role: Co-Principal Investigator, Lead PI: Dr Narendra Kurra, IIT Hyderabad
• Development and Demonstration of Materials and Fabrication Technologies for Tropical Batteries, MAHA - EV Mission, sponsored by ANRF, Project duration : 2025-2030, Project cost : Rs 120.8 lakhs, Role : Principal Investigator
• A Pilot Study to Enhance Revenue Generation by Implementing Sustainable Practices in Jute Cultivation , funded by National Jute Board, Ministry of Textiles, Project duration : 2025-2026, Project cost : Rs 105 lakhs, Role : Role: Principal Investigator
• Transforming Agricultural Waste into efficient Carbon materials: A Sustainable Path for Energy Storage Solutions , PRAYAS Scheme, sponsored by IBITF, Project duration : 2025-2027, Project cost : Rs 27.6 lakhs, Role : Principal Investigator
• Synthesis and Application of Sustainable Carbon Materials for High Energy Lithium-ion Capacitor, SEED-Scheme for Young Scientists & Technologists, sponsored by DST, Project duration : 2024-2027, Project cost : Rs 34.5 lakhs, Role : Principal Investigator
• Development of carbon coated Prussian blue Analogue Cathode materials for Na-ion Battery Application , Research Initiation Grant, sponsored by IIT Bhilai, Project duration : 2025-2027, Project cost : Rs 12 lakhs, Role : Principal Investigator
• Development of novel & low-cost porous carbon materials for high performance super capacitor and their application for e-mobility, sponsored by HPCL Bangalore, Project duration : 2018-2021, Project cost : Rs 98.5 lakhs, Role : Co-Principal Investigator
• Supercapacitor powered Hybrid E-Rickshaw, B1 project of DST sponsored TRC project, Project duration : 2017-2022, Project cost : Rs 780 lakhs, Role : Core Team member

  Patents & Publications

Patents

• Cylindrical Cell with Monolithic T-Shaped Central Core for Integrated Thermal, Structural, and Gas Management Functions, Amankant Sahu and Katchala Nanaji, Indian patent filed March 2026
• Non-cylindrical battery with Integrated Structural, Thermal, and Electrical Core for Enhanced Safety and Performance, Amankant Sahu and Katchala Nanaji, Indian patent filed March 2026
• Metals-embedded resorcinol-formaldehyde xerogel-based carbon cathode for high-performance batteries and a method of preparation thereof, Sony K. Cherian, Chandra S. Sharma, Katchala Nanaji, B V Sarada, and Tata N Rao, Indian patent application number, 202341042659 filed on 26th June 2023
• A biomass-derived porous carbon as sulfur host for energy storage device and a method of preparing thereof, Sony K. Cherian, Katchala Nanaji, B V Sarada, Tata N Rao and Chandra S. Sharma, Indian patent application number, 202341033390 filed on 11th May 2023
• A dry process of preparation of a composite electrode material, Katchala Nanaji, Rajesh Mekkat, K Ramesha, Aditya R, Nagur baba, Vishal S, Sachin shet, Patent application number, 202341018316, filed on 17th March 2023
• Fabrication of tab-less and high power cylindrical LFP-LTO cell for fast charging lithium-ion battery application, S. Anandan, Katchala Nanaji, R. Vijay, Tata N. Rao”, Indian patent application number, 202341004527, dated 23rd January 2023
• Method of producing nanoporous graphene sheet-like structured high and low surface area carbon sheets from petroleum coke, Katchala Nanaji, V. Pavan Srinivas, S. Anandan, T. Narasinga Rao, K. Narayanan, B. Ramachandra Rao and M. Pramanik, Patent Appln. No. 202011007399 dated 20th Feb.2020
• Method of producing graphene like structured nanoporous carbon material from Jute stick based bio-waste for Energy Storage applications and the product Thereof, Katchala Nanaji, S. Anandan, Tata N. Rao, Indian Patent Appl. No. E-2/276//2018/DEL, 16th February 2018. Patent Granted on 7th April 2022 with Patent No. of 394477

Selected Publications

Google Scholar
• M. Senthilkumaran, H. J. Bharathkumar, S. Ramesh, K. A. Basha, R. Prakash Babu Katchala Nanaji*, “Effect of imidazolium-based porous polymer binder on the electrochemical performance of lithium sulfur batteries” J. Power Sources , 2026, 676, 239914
• T. Dewangan, G. Revathy, P. Panda, A. Karati, B. R. Madhuri, R. Vijay, T. N. Rao, R. Sahoo, Katchala Nanaji*, “Synergistic Mg2+-Ti4+ dual doping unlocks highly reversible and air-stable P2-Type cathodes for sodium-ion batteries” Ceramics International , 2026
• N. Singh, D. K. Sinha, K. Mahata, D. Bhoi, T. Dewangan, Katchala Nanaji, S. Banerjee “Development of Multifunctional Smart Polymeric Material for Emerging Applications” Advanced Functional Materials , 2026, 36, (14), e10516
• Katchala Nanaji*, S. Anandan, R. Vijay and Tata N. Rao, “Tab-less 6080 cylindrical super battery: Merging high energy with supercapacitor speed for next-gen innovation” Journal of Power Sources, 2025, 630, 236123
• Katchala Nanaji*, S. Pappu, S. Anandan, B.V.Sarada, R. Vijay and Tata N. Rao, “TiNb2O7 nanobead anode coupled porous carbon onion cathode for high energy and power-based hybrid Lithium-Ion Capacitor ” Journal of Power Sources, 2025, 629, 236024
• S. Kannur, M. Devi, J. Pasyanthi, K. Kunte, G. Shukla, P. Murugesan, A. Mohan, Katchala Nanaji , B. Sarada, S. Sharma, , M. Radhakrishna “Influence of Electrode Pore Size and Electrolyte on Carbon Aerogel Supercapacitors: Insights from Experimental Studies and Molecular Simulations ” Journal of Physical Chemistry C , 2024, 128, 17836-17849
• Sony K. C, Mayur M., Katchala Nanaji, B. V. Sarada, Tata Narasinga Rao, Chandra S. Sharma “Iron, cobalt co-embedded in situ graphitized xerogel-derived carbon as sulfur host for ultrahigh rate and high-performance lithium-sulfur batteries ” Journal of Energy Storage , 2024, 95, 112587
• Sajith Babu M, Katchala Nanaji, Natarajan T.S, Suresh. S, Srinivasarao. K “Nd(III) and Dy(III) extraction from discarded NdFeB magnets using TOPO-based hydrophobic eutectic solvents” Journal of Molecular Liquids , 2024, 402, 124697
• Sony K. C, Katchala Nanaji, B. V. Sarada, Tata Narasinga Rao, Chandra S. Sharma “Sulfur confinement into highly porous banana peduncle-derived carbon for high-rate performance Lithium Sulfur battery ” Journal of Energy Storage , 2024, 89, 111803
• Katchala Nanaji*, and Tata N. Rao, “A High-Performance Dual-Carbon Na-Ion Capacitor Fabricated from a Single Biowaste Precursor” Energy Technology, 2023, 10, 2300493
• Katchala Nanaji*, N. Aamani, P.V. Srinivas, S. Anandan, R. Vijay, R. Bathe, M. Pramanik, K. Narayanan, R. Balasubramaniam, Tata N. Rao, “Translational Materials Research - From Laboratory to Product: A 1200 F Cylindrical Supercapacitor from Petroleum Coke derived Activated Carbon Sheets” Journal of Energy Storage, 2022, 55, 105650
• Katchala Nanaji* , P. Samhita, S. Anandan, Tata N. Rao, “A High-energy density Li-ion hybrid capacitor fabricated from bio-waste derived carbon nanosheets cathode and graphite anode” Global Challenges, 2022,6,2200082, 1-9
• Katchala Nanaji# , E. Hari Mohan#, B.V. Appa Rao, Tata N. Rao “A facile one step synthesis of bio-inspired porous graphitic carbon sheets for Improved Li-S battery performance” International Journal of Energy Research , 2022,46, 4339-4351. (# Equal contribution)
• Katchala Nanaji, B.V. Sarada, Tata N. Rao, U. V. Varadaraju, S. Anandan, “A novel approach to synthesize porous graphene sheets by exploring KOH as pore inducing agent as well as a catalyst for supercapacitors with ultra-fast rate capability” Renewable Energy, 2021, 172, 502-513
• Katchala Nanaji#, P.V. Srinivas#, S. Anandan, M. Pramanik, K. Narayanan, R. Balasubramaniam, Tata N. Rao “Petroleum coke as an efficient single carbon source for high energy and high-power Lithium-ion capacitors” Energy & Fuels , 2021,35, 9010-9016 (# Equal contribution)
• Katchala Nanaji, Tata N. Rao, Varadaraju U.V, S. Anandan, “Jute sticks derived novel graphitic porous carbon nanosheets as anode material for lithium-ion battery with superior electrochemical properties” International Journal of Energy Research, 2020, 44, 2289-2297
• Usha Rani, Katchala Nanaji , Tata N. Rao, A. S. Deshpande, “Corn husk derived activated carbon with enhanced electrochemical performance for high-voltage supercapacitors” Journal of Power Sources, 2020, 471, 228387
• P. Samhita, Katchala Nanaji , M. Sreekanth, Tata N. Rao, S. K. Martha, B. V. Sarada “Cost-effective Synthesis of Electrodeposited NiCo2O4 Nanosheets with Induced Oxygen Vacancies: A Highly Efficient Electrode Material for Hybrid Supercapacitors” Batteries & Supercaps, 2020, 3, 1209-1219
• Katchala Nanaji, Varadaraju U.V, Tata N. Rao, S. Anandan “Robust, Environmentally Benign Synthesis of Nanoporous Graphene Sheets from Bio-waste for Ultrafast Supercapacitor Application” ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering , 2019, 7, 2516-2529
• Katchala Nanaji , Varadaraju U.V, Tata N. Rao, S. Anandan "Pore size engineered three dimensional ordered mesoporous carbons with improved electrochemical performance for supercapacitor and lithium-ion battery applications" Chemistry Select, 2019, 4, 10104 -10112
• S. Ghosh, R. Santhosh, S. Jeniffer, V. Raghavan, Katchala Nanaji, P. Kollu, S K Jeong and A Grace, “Natural biomass derived hard carbon and activated carbons as electrochemical supercapacitor electrodes” Scientific Reports, 2019, 9, 16315
• Katchala Nanaji , Hari Mohan. E, Sarada V. B, Varadaraju U.V, N. Rao Tata, Anandan. S, “One step synthesized hierarchical spherical porous carbon as an efficient electrode material for lithium-ion battery” Materials Letters, 2019, 237, 156-160

Book Chapters

• T. Dewangan, N. Keshari, T. Gandharv, K. Basu, N. Kumar, and Katchala Nanaji* "Recent advances, challenges, and future perspectives of Solid-State Batteries”, Electrochemistry of Next-Generation Solid-State Batteries, , Springer Nature, 2026, ISBN, 978-981-95-7602-9
• P. Samhita,Tata N Rao, B. V. Sarada and Katchala Nanaji* "Introduction to Green Supercapacitors: Fundamentals, Design, Challenges, and Future Prospects” Low-Carbon Supercapacitors: Towards sustainability in energy storage devices , Royal Society of Chemistry, 2023, vol.2, ch.1, pp.1-33
• Katchala Nanaji, Vijayakumar M, Sankar A.B, Karthik M, “Highly Functionalized Nanostructured Titanium Oxide-Based Photocatalysts for Direct Photocatalytic Decomposition of NOx/VOCs” Nanostructured Materials for Environmental Applications . Springer, Cham, 2021, 521-544
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