Research on the Effect of Nano Sn in Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ Lithium Battery

The Research in Plain Language

Lithium-ion batteries power almost everything — from phones to electric vehicles. But the materials inside them have limits. Our research explored whether adding tiny tin particles to a specific anode material could make it perform better. The short answer: it worked. We pushed the material past its theoretical maximum capacity, which was a meaningful result for the field.

My Role & Experience

• Hands-on lab work: Spent months synthesizing materials, iterating on compositions, and occasionally keeping a furnace company at 3AM while it took its time. Research, I learned, is 90% waiting, 9% failed attempts, and 1% genuine surprise that something worked.
• Operating heavy machinery with a great name: Ran a magnetic ball mill, which sounds more exciting than it is, but is genuinely satisfying. Also operated electron microscopes (SEM, TEM), X-ray diffraction equipment, and electrochemical testing setups, developing deep fluency in materials analysis along the way.
• Academic writing: Co-authored the paper through multiple rounds of peer review, learning how to communicate complex findings with precision and clarity. It takes more drafts than you'd expect to say something simple and mean it.
• Collaborative research: Worked alongside professors and fellow researchers at Universitas Indonesia, navigating the dynamics of academic teamwork, deadlines, debates, and all.
• Presented in Bali (for science, officially): Traveled to present our findings at the ICA-IUMRS 2018 International Conference. The research was rigorous. The venue happened to be Bali. I have no complaints.

What Research Taught Me

Lab research gave me a way of thinking I still carry into everything I build. It taught me to be rigorous about evidence, comfortable with ambiguity, and honest about what the data actually says versus what you wish it said. The patience required to run the same experiment dozens of times, changing one variable at a time, is the same discipline that makes product iteration work. Breakthroughs don't come from inspiration alone. They come from systematic persistence, and sometimes from simply not going home when the furnace still has three hours to go.