University of Warsaw (UW) was founded in 1816. The University brings together scholars from a variety of disciplines. It is the place of a diversity of scientific research. Nearly 60,000 people study at the University of Warsaw every year. The candidates are offered a very broad range of courses in the fields of humanities, social sciences and natural sciences, as well as many interdisciplinary courses combining knowledge and skills of many disciplines. The University offers undergraduate and doctoral studies, organizes summer schools, postgraduate studies and vocational courses, initiates interdisciplinary programmes and introduces new teaching techniques.

The Faculty of Chemistry, University of Warsaw, is a large research and teaching centre. There are fully developed programs in analytical chemistry, biochemistry, inorganic, nuclear, organic, and physical chemistry as well as in chemical physics. The faculty has been regarded as one of the top chemistry departments in the country for decades, and it attracts outstanding faculty and students. Many faculty members have distinguished themselves both nationally and internationally.

The project Sintbat will be conducted at the Laboratory of Electrochemical Power Sources (LEPS) at the Faculty of Chemistry, University of Warsaw. Studies on application of new electrode materials in batteries and cells and application of radionuclides in scientific research are the main scientific fields of interest of LEPS. The Laboratory is a member of the Polish Hydrogen Technology and Fuel Cell Platform. The Laboratory of Electrochemical Powers Sources published 40 scientific papers in the last four years, mainly in electrochemical journals e.g. Electrochemistry Communications, Electrochimica Acta, Journal of Power Sources, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, Journal of Applied Electrochemistry, Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry. 4 patents have been filed, related mainly to battery and fuel cells systems. The scientific fields of interest includes, among others:

• Fundamental and application research on electrochemical properties of novel materials and electrolytes in lithium-ion batteries,
• Fundamental research on hydrogen sorption in model systems such as palladium and its alloys,
• Application of research results on hydrogen sorption in metals in construction of new type of electrochemical supercapacitors,
• Investigation of sorption-desorption of hydrogen in transition metal alloys, types AB₅, AB₂, etc., used as negative electrodes in commercial nickel – metal hydride batteries or in hydrogen storage containers,
• Modification of hydrogen absorbing materials in order to increase their hydrogen storage capability,
• New multi-component alloys based on Pt , Pd ,Ru and Rh metals as new anodic and cathodic catalysts in low temperature hydrogen and direct alcohol fuel cells,
• Research on the construction of a new, more efficient hydride battery, used for instance in cars equipped with a hybrid fuel system,
• Porous vitreous carbon modified with metals - a new electrode material for lead-acid, nickel-metal hydride and zinc carbon batteries,
• Application of Conductive Porous Carbon (produced in our Laboratory) in construction of new high energetic carbon lead-acid battery (CLAB), which energy density is at the level Ni-Cd battery (ca. 50 Wh/kg),
• Recycling of zinc-carbon and zinc-manganese batteries,
• Spectroelectrochemistry of manganese group metals (Mn, Tc, Re) – aimed at the application of rhenium and technetium in radio-pharmaceuticals.
• Investigation of electrosorption of radioisotope labelled compounds using various type of electrodes,
• Research on biologically active chemicals performed on small animals using PET, SPECT, CT techniques.

Main tasks within Sintbat:

During the project Sintbat, a wide range of electrochemical techniques (e.g. cyclic voltammetry, potentiometry, galvanostatic and potentiostatic intermittent titration technique, impedance spectroscopy, galvanostatic charge-discharge tests) will be employed in order to determine the main electrochemical processes during oxidation and reduction of both negative and positive electrodes and electrolytes received from WP-2 and WP-3. A determination of cell design parameters such as electrode porosities, active material particle size; as well as electrochemical parameters such as specific capacity, cell operating voltage, lithium ion diffusion coefficient, charge-discharge efficiency, high-rate performance, cycle life will provide a valuable data for simulation and modelling of aging mechanism.