Thesis title: Tailored Production of Hard Carbon from Lignin for High-performance Sodium-ion Batteries Principal Supervisor: A/Prof Zhanying Zhang Associate Supervisor/s: Prof Cheng Yan and Prof Hongxia Wang Expected final thesis submission date: Before 31 December 2025 CAB Research program: Bioprocessing
Nethmi Kulanika Dayarathne, a passionate and dedicated scholar, is currently in her second year of doctoral studies in Chemical Engineering at the Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy (CAB) at QUT.
She graduated with honors in Chemistry from the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka in 2021. During her undergraduate studies, she engages in developing sustainable crack-resistance coatings. After graduation, she served as a Teaching Assistant in the Department of Chemistry at her alma mater, sharing her knowledge and inspiring future chemists. In 2022, she joined the CAB at QUT as a PhD student to pursue her PhD under the supervision of A/Prof Zhanying Zhang.
Her current project involves constructing a bottom-up approach to produce hard carbon with tailorable properties. This innovative work utilizes lignin, a byproduct from bio-alcohol pretreatment of biomasses, aiming to create high-performance sodium-ion battery (SIB) anodes. Away from the lab, she finds joy in baking cakes. She also loves sewing, drawing, and planting, nurturing her creativity.