Muhammad Arman Liaqat

My research focuses on the development of sustainable materials for next-generation sodium- ion energy storage, particularly sodium-ion capacitors, combining P2-type layered transition- metal oxide cathodes with alginate-based hydrogel electrolytes. My research is carried out between the Materials Engineering and Energy Laboratory (MATee) research group at Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), University of Lisbon, Portugal, and the Innovation in Materials and Molecular Engineering (IMEM) group at UPC, Barcelona. At IMEM-UPC, I focus on the development and characterization of biopolymer-based hydrogels, investigating their crosslinking, swelling, ion uptake, ionic conductivity, mechanical stability, and electrochemical behaviour, as well as the incorporation of nanoclay fillers to tailor their properties. At MATee-IST, under the research group of Prof. Fatima Montemor, my work focuses on the development and investigation of P2-type layered transition-metal oxide cathode materials. This work brings together the development of cathode materials and hydrogel electrolytes, with the overall aim of understanding electrode–electrolyte interactions and developing sustainable materials for improved sodium-ion energy-storage devices.

Member of the Innovation in Materials and Molecular Engineering (IMEM) group, working with Prof. Carlos Enrique Aleman Llanso and Dr. Sonia Lanzalaco within the Energy Applications research line, as part of the FCT-UNITE! Programme, with research carried out in collaboration with the MATee research group at Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), University of Lisbon, under Prof. Fatima Montemor, focusing on the development of P2-type layered transition-metal oxide cathode materials.