Research
As we move into the twenty first century, materials research is undergoing dramatic changes both in terms of content and the impact on society. What started mainly as a discipline to study and explore metals like iron and steel now includes a wide variety of materials ranging from semi-conductors, polymers, bio-materials, etc. which have end uses in some of the most significant areas like energy, environment, medicine, military and many other.
At our school faculty members and research scholars are involved in research on various aspects of different materials which we classify in the following conventional overlapping types based primarily on the material type: (i) Nanomaterials, (ii) Composite materials, (iii) Polymeric materials, (iv) Ceramic materials, (v) Biomaterials and (vi) Computational materials science.
Year-wise publication by faculty members of MND-SMSE in SCI journals.
(Note: Publications of visiting professors not included)
Area-wise publications by faculty members and some journals where articles were published. The numbers in the parenthesis are the corresponding impact factors.
(Note: Publications of visiting professors not included)
Year-wise evolution of areas in which publications of MND-SMSE appeared.
Research Areas
Nanomaterials
The importance of nanomaterials in the context of contemporary research and development cannot be overemphasized. They form a class of materials, usually in the size range of 1-100 nm, where material properties become size-dependent. Therefore, at least in principle it is possible to tailor properties simply by tuning size. However, at the nanoscale where surface area to volume ratio becomes very large, shape, defects and defect distribution and surface configuration play significant roles in defining material properties in addition to size. At our school we look into different aspects of a variety of nanomaterials which are broadly classified as follows:
Nanomaterials for electronics and opto-electronics
Plasmonic nanomaterials
Low-dimensional thermoelectric materials
Nanomaterials for water treatment
2-dimensional nanostructures
Nanomaterials for electronics and opto-electronics:
Spherical and rod-like core-shell nanostructures of silicon-silicon oxide
Electronic and opto-electronic properties of nanostructures, particularly semiconductors, can be tailored by ban-engineering at the nanoscale. In general semiconductors II-VI and III-V semiconductors exhibit size dependent emission and absorption spectra which are well studied. At SMSE, research activities in this area have primarily been focused on silicon, the classical indirect band gap material. Scientists attached to SMSE have developed a novel route for synthesis of light emitting silicon nanostructures.
Some publications in this area:
- A. Jana, S. Ghosh, P. S. Devi, N. R. Bandyopadhyay, and M. Ray, “Tunable Charge Transport through n-ZnO Nanorods on Au coated Macroporous p-Si” J. MATER. CHEM. C, 2, 9613 - 9619, 2014.
- T. S. Basu, M. Ray, N. R. Bandyopadhyay, A. K. Pramanick and S. M. Hossain “Performance enhancement of crystalline silicon solar cell by coating with luminescent silicon nanostructures” J. ELECTRON. MATER., 42, 403-409, 2013.
- M. Ray, A. Jana, U. Ghanta, N. R. Bandyopadhyay and S. M. Hossain “Photoluminescence from Oxidized Macroporous Silicon: Nano-Ripples and Strained Silicon Nanostructures” IEEE TRANS. DEVICE MATER. REL., 13, 87-92, 2013.
- A. Mandal, M. Ray, I. Rajapaksa, S. Mukherjee and A. Datta, “Xylene Capped Luminescent Silicon Nanocrystals: Evidence of Supramolecular Bonding” J. PHYS. CHEM. C, 116, 14644−14649, 2012.
- M. Ray, N. R. Bandyopadhyay, U. Ghanta, R. F. Klie, A. K. Pramanick, S. Das, S. K. Ray and S. M. Hossain, “Temperature dependent photoluminescence from porous silicon nanostructures: quantum confinement and oxide related transitions” J. APPL. PHYS., 110, 094309, (8 pages) 2011.
- S. Ghoshal, A. A. M. Ansar, S. O. Raja, A. Jana, N. R. Bandyopadhyay, A. K Dasgupta and M. Ray*, “Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticle attachment on array of micro-test tubes and micro-beakers formed on p-type silicon substrate for biosensor applications” NANOSCALE RES. LETT., 6, 540 (8 pages) 2011.
This article featured as a news item: “Lab on a chip: It can replace large, time consuming diagnostic tools” Down to Earth, Dec 15, 2011.
- M. Ray, S. M. Hossain, R. F. Klie, K. Banerjee and S. Ghosh “Free standing luminescent silicon quantum dots: evidence of quantum confinement and defect related transitions” NANOTECHNOLOGY, 21, 505602 (9 pages) 2010.
- M. Ray, T. S. Basu, A. Jana, N. R. Bandyopadhyay, S. M. Hossain, A. K. Pramanick and R. F. Klie “Luminescent core-shell nanostructures of silicon and silicon oxide: nanodots and nanorods” J. APPL. PHYS., 107, 064311 (7 pages) 2010.
Faculty members and groups involved: Mallar Ray
Syed Minhaz Hossain
Plasmonic nanomaterials
Plasmons are collective oscillations of free electron gas. In small metallic nanoparticles the plasmon modes can be excited when they are excited with suitable wavelength. At SMSE, scientists have coupled plasmonic nanomaterials with semiconductor quantum dots giving rise to a hybrid with exotic properties. Efforts are on to understand plasmon-plasmon and plasmon-exciton interactions in different core-shell nanostructures.
Some publications in this area:
- T. S. Basu and M. Ray “Charge Transfer Induced Encapsulation of Si Quantum Dots by Atomically Larger and Highly Lattice-Mismatched Au Nanoparticles” J. PHYS. CHEM. C, 118, 5041–5050, 2014.
- M. Ray, T. S. Basu, N. R. Bandyopadhyay, R. F. Klie, S. Ghosh, S. O. Raja and A. K. Dasgupta “Highly Lattice-mismatched Semiconductor-Metal Hybrid Nanostructures: Gold Nanoparticle Encapsulated Luminescent Silicon Quantum Dots” NANOSCALE, 6, 2201-2210, 2014.
Faculty members and groups involved: Mallar Ray
Low-dimensional thermoelectric materials
Enhancement of thermoelectric figure of merit, 
, where S, σ, κ and T are Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity and temperature, respectively, is challenging because S, σ, and κ are strongly interrelated. At SMSE, efforts are on to increase ZT utilizing nanoscale properties. So far scientists have successfully decoupled electrical and thermal conductivities in silicon nanostructure based composites. The cost-effective and scalable production process promises to assist in the development of a commercially viable material which can play a significant role in meeting the energy challenge of the society.
Some publications in this area:
< >T. S. Basu and M. Ray “Extraordinary electron and phonon transport through metal-semiconductor hybrid nanocomposite: decoupling electrical and thermal conductivities for thermoelectric application” INT. J. NANOTECHNOLOGY, 11, 897-909, 2014.T. S. Basu, R. Yang, S. J. Thiagarajan, S. Ghosh, S. Gierlotka, and M. Ray “Remarkable thermal conductivity reduction in metal-semiconductor nanocomposites” APPL. PHYS. LETT., 103, 083115 (5 pages) 2013.T. S. Basu, S. Ghosh, S. Gierlotka, and M. Ray “Collective Charge Transport in Semiconductor-Metal Hybrid Nanocomposite” APPL. PHYS. LETT., 102, 053107 (5 pages) 2013.
The presence of natural organic component (NOC) specially, FAs in natural water can not only damnably affect visual effects and taste, but also increase levels of complexed heavy metals and adsorbed organic pollutants. What is more, FA has been shown to be especially reactive with a variety of disinfectants used for the purification of drinking water forming disinfection by-products (DBPs). Nanomaterials such as graphene oxide coated on natural substrates such as jute, wood, or sand can be a potential adsorbent material for NOC removal from contaminated water. Our group is working on such aspect of water purification using inexpensive technologies with nanomaterials.
Some publications in this area:
< >S. Manna, P. Saha, D.Roy, R.Sen, B.Adhikari. Defluoridation potential of jute fibers grafted with fatty acyl chain. Applied Surface Science, 356, 30-38, (2015)P Saha, S Manna, D Roy, B Adhikari, Defluoridation of aqueous solution using alkali-steam treated water hyacinth and elephant grass . Journal of the Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers. 50, 215-222, (2015)Mallar Ray
2-dimensional nanostructures
2D nanomaterials have attracted significant attraction particularly after the simple exfoliation of graphene. Groups at SMSE have recently embarked on a project to develop 2D silicon analogue of graphene. This is particularly challenging since unlike graphite, crystalline silicon is dominated by sp3 hybridization which makes simple exfoliation virtually impossible. Attempts are o to overcome this limitation by innovative strategies. Besides 2D silicon research efforts are also directed towards synthesis and understanding of graphene supported metal nanostructures. The focus here is to explore the opto-electronic properties.
Faculty members and groups involved: Mallar Ray
Composite materials
Research focus on composites focus on the deformation behavior of ball milled and consolidated powder blend comprising 316 stainless steel and elemental Al (65 wt.%), studied by the micro- and nano-indentation techniques. With an aim to examine the strain hardening behavior of the consolidated samples, nano-indentation measurements have been carried out by applying variable load at multiple spots and cyclic load at the single spot. Similar experiments have been carried out for the bulk 316-stainless steel plate to compare the results with those obtained from the consolidated samples. The consolidated samples exhibited much higher hardness values than the plate along with high elastic recovery and appreciable work hardening.
The effect of dispersion with different weight fractions of Al2O3 particles in metallic matrices (Al/Mg/Ti/Cu) fabricated by powder metallurgy was investigated. In the case of 15 wt% Al2O3 reinforced composites, peak hardness were attained which subsequently decreased with increasing the content of Al2O3. A correlation between the microhardness and nanomechanical properties at submicron scale was examined for all the composites. Specific strength and specific modulus were measured in order to figure out the performance of the composites.
Some publications in this area:
< >Subhranshu Chatterjee, Sumit Chabri, Himel Chakraborty, Nandagopal Bhowmik, and Arijit Sinha, “Micromechanical and Nanoscratch Behavior of SiCp Dispersed Metal Matrix Composites” J. MATER. ENG. PERFORM., 24, 3407-3418, 2015.Subhranshu Chatterjee, Arijit Sinha, Debdulal Das, Sumit Ghosh, Amitava Basumallick, “Microstructure and mechanical properties of Al/Fe-aluminide in-situ composite prepared by reactive stir casting route” MATER. SCI. ENG. A, 528, 6-13, 2013.Sumit Chabri, Subhranshu Chatterjee, Santanu Pattanayak, Himel Chakraborty, Nandagopal Bhowmik, Arijit Sinha, “Development and Characterization of Al2O3 Dispersed Al/Mg/Cu/Ti Matrix Composite” J. MATER. SCI. TECHNOL., 29, 1085-1090, 2013.Himel Chakraborty, Arijit Sinha, Nillohit Mukherjee, Dipa Ray, Partha Protim Chattopadhyay, “A study on nanoindentation and tribological behaviour of multifunctional ZnO/PMMA nanocomposite” MATER. LETT., 93, 137-140, 2013.A. Sinha, A. Samanta, I. Manna, W. Lojkowski, P.P. Chattopadhyay, “Micromechanical characterization of bulk composite prepared by sintering of mechanically alloyed aluminum-316 stainless steel (35 wt%) powder blend” MATER. SCI. ENG. A, 528, 6034-6038, 2011.Prosenjit Saha
Arijit Sinha
N.R.Bandyopadhyay
Polymeric materials
Lignocellulosic material is one of the most important widely used polymers that can be found mostly in plant resources. However the basic disadvantage of such polymer is its biodegradation. Our aim is to resist cellulosic biodegradation by means of green chemical treatment processes for long lasting engineering constructions. Soft lumbers of silk-cotton wood have been modified with phenolic resin and neem oil. Chemical changes of the modified wood were investigated by Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) and 13C solid state NMR spectroscopy. Experimental results reveal that the hydroxyl groups of the wood surface were transesterified with the fatty acyl chains of the neem oil. Flexural strength and water repellence of chemically treated wood samples were found to enhance up to 50% and 75%, respectively. A soil burial test up to 90 days was also performed and showed a substantial improvement in biodegradation resistance.
Some publications in this area:
< >P Saha, S Manna, D Roy, S Chowdhury, R Sen, B Adhikari, and Sabu Thomas. New Biobased Surface Treatment to Improve Strength and Durability of Bombax ceiba. ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering, (2016), 4 (1), 76-84.P Saha, Debasis Roy, Sukanya Chowdhury, Basudam Adhikari, Jin Kuk Kim, Sabu Thomas. Recent Advances in Chemical Modifications of Lignocellulosic Fibers for Durable Engineering Composites. Polymer Bulletin, (2015), (Accepted, Aug 07, 2015, DOI 10.1007/s00289-015-1489-y)
Ceria-based electrolytes have been widely investigated in intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), which might be operated at 500-600˚C. Samarium doped (20 mol %) ceria (20 SDC) one of the most promising material in this class of compounds. In this work we report effect of lattice substitution of 5 mol % Li on Sm in (20 SDC). It was prepared by citrate-nitrate auto combustion synthesis having a powder of average particle size ~50 nm. The sintered density of more than 98% of the theoretical density at 950˚C has been achieved. Increased ionic conductivity (lattice) at 500˚C has also been achieved in Ce0.75Sm0.2Li0.05O1.95 compare to that of Ce0.75Sm0.2Li0.05O1.95. Corresponding activation energy of conduction ~0.7 eV has been calculated in the temperature range of 200-600˚C. In reducing atmosphere the electrical conductivity has not been altered much. Thus Ce0.75Sm0.2Li0.05O1.95 has been found to be quite promising in terms of reducing the processing temperature as well as operating temperature of SOFC.
Some publications in this area:
< >Santanu Basu, Subhasis Khamrui, N.R. Bandyopadhyay, “Sintering and electrical properties of Ce0.75Sm0.2Li0.05O1.95” INTER. J. HYDROGEN ENERG., 39, 17429-17433, 2014.Santanu Basu, P. Sujatha Devi, N.R. Bandyopadhyay, “Sintering and densification behavior of pure and alkaline earth (Ba2+, Sr2+ and Ca2+) substituted La2Mo2O9” J. EUR. CERA. SOC., 33, 79-85, 2013.
Our current study represents two-fold advanced technology (electrospinning/melt spinning, and 3-D bioprinting) to make chitin-based artificial smart skin with the help of novel non-toxic polymer matrices in presence of natural crosslinking agent such as dopamine (DA). The originality of this study lies on the proposed approaches to use electrospinning/melt spinning, and 3D printing for making artificial smart skin with unique material properties.
Faculty members and groups involved: Prosenjit Saha
B.C.Mitra
Computational materials science
In contemporary materials research a wide variety of problems have evolved, where the general concepts are broadly recognized but they are not easily amenable to standard analytical treatment and are best dealt using the powerful computational abilities on modern computers. These include quantum chemical methods, density functional theory, atomic-scale simulations, phase-field techniques, and soft computation approaches like artificial intelligence. At SMSE, groups are involved in both first principle ab-initio modeling of materials using DFT and wave-function based approaches as well as in soft computational techniques involving neural networks and genetic algorithm. The two areas are therefore:
DFT and wave-function based modeling of materials
Soft computational modeling and optimization
DFT and wave-function based modeling of materials
DFT based materials modeling is carried out to develop detailed understanding of band structure and density of states of variety of materials including nanostructures using Materials Studio software and VASP code. Research on such ab-inito methods have just been taken up and a group involving scholars and faculty members are currently being trained to utilize the powerful techniques for better and comprehensive understanding of materials.
Some publications in this area:
< >G. G. Khan, N. R. Bandyopadhyay, A. Basumallick, “Ab-initio pseudopotential study of electronic structure and chemisorption of oxygen on aluminium surface” J. Phys. and Chem. Solids, 70, 298-302, 2009 J. Sarkar, G. G. Khan and A. Basumallick, “The microscopic origin of self-organized nanostripe pattern formation on an electropolished aluminium surface” Nanotechnology, 20, 095604, 2009M. M. Das, M. Ray, N. R. Bandyopadhyay and S. M. Hossain “Estimation of oxide related electron trap energy of porous silicon nanostructures” MATER. CHEM. PHYS., 119, 524–528, 2010.
There are situations where perfect prediction of properties of materials as a function of different parameters is impossible to obtain using standard analytic methods or regression analysis. This is because material properties are dependent in a very complex way on a number of process variables. In such cases soft computational approaches like neural network and genetic algorithm are employed. Neural network analysis is a form of regression or classification modeling which can help resolve the difficulties and stated to be free from the ambiguities experienced in a regression analysis. It typifies a learning technique that enables to map the hidden input-output relationship accurately. Genetic algorithm, on the other hand, is a biologically inspired computing technique for optimization, which tend to imitate the basic Darwinian concepts of natural selection. They are highly robust and efficient for most engineering optimizing studies. Groups working at SMSE employ artificial neural network and genetic algorithm as well as other soft computational techniques like rough sets to tackle complex problems where analytical modeling is nearly impossible to perform.
Some publications in this area:
< >S. Dey, N. Sultana, M. S. Kaiser, P. Dey, S. Datta “Computational intelligence based design of age-hardenable aluminium alloys for different temperature regimes” Mater. & Design, 92, 522-534,2016N. Sultana, S. Sikdar, P. P. Chattopadhyay, S. Datta, “Informatics based design of prosthetic Ti alloys” Mater. Technol. 29, B69-B75, 2013.M. Ray, S. Ganguly, S. Datta, M. Das, N. R. Bandyopadhyay and S. M. Hossain, “Artificial Neural Network (ANN) – based model for in situ prediction of porosity of nanostructured porous silicon” MATER. MANUF. PROCESS, 24, 83-87, 2009.M. Ray, S. Ganguly, M. Das, S. M. Hossain and N. R. Bandyopadhyay, “Genetic algorithm based search of parameters for fabrication of uniform porous silicon nanostructure” COMP. MATER. SCI. 45, 60–64, 2009.
Faculty members and groups involved: P. P. Chattopadhyay
N. R. Bandyopadhyay
Mallar Ray
Ongoing Project
|
Sl. No. |
Title of Research Project |
Sponsoring Agency |
Project cost |
|
01. |
Development of natural green polymer based nanocomposite for artificial skin materials by electrospinning and 3-D printing technology PI: Dr. P. Saha |
DST Inspire, GoI |
35.00 Lakhs |
|
02. |
Development of nanofiber reinforced plant polymer based durable, fire-retardant biocomposites PI: Dr. P. Saha |
SEED-DST, Under SYST Scheme, GoI. |
31.00 Lakhs |
|
03. |
Engineered Biomimetic Cellulose Nano-scaffold for Skin and Bone Replacement PI: Dr. P. Saha |
DST-SERB, Under Early Career Research Grant, GoI |
42.00 Lakhs |
|
04. |
Synthesis of some one or two dimensional carbon nanostructures/related composites and its novel electronic applications by virtue of its amorphousness PI: Dr. D. Bajerjee |
DST-SERB, Under First Track Research Grant, GoI |
23.00 Lakhs |
|
05. |
Development of fire-retardant durable jute nano composites for high end structural applications PI: Prof. S. Chatterjee |
Ministry of Textiles, GOI |
78.00 Lakhs |
|
06. |
Exploration on the efficient electrode systems for rechargeable batteries PI: Dr. S. Ghosh |
DST Inspire, GoI |
35.00 Lakhs |
|
07. |
Development of high-strength low-carbon multiphase steels (YS~1000 MPa, UTS~1300 MPa and Elongation 40-50%) PI: Prof. N.R. Bandyopadhyay |
Ministry of Steel , Govt. of India
|
628.00 lakhs |