O&IFMD @TIFR Hyderabad
Organic and Inorganic Functional Material Design
Molecular Separation- Photocatalysis - Photophysics - Supramolecular Chemistry
Research Theme
Sustainability of synthetic materials is the primary challenge towards realizing practical applications. While designing a functional material, molecular structures and mesoscopic assembly process, both play imperative roles to make it sustainable. We aim to programme the molecular assembly in mesoscale to realize sustainability for targeted applications, including gas separation, selective ion diffusion, photocatalysis and smart optoelectronic materials.
MOF thin film
Materials: Metal-organic frameworks, Conjugated porous polymers, Photoactive molecules
News & Events
Our work published in Nature Communication is highlighted in Times of India; online link: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/new-research-on-nano-filters-to-scale-down-cost-in-producing-pure-chemicals/articleshow/100753502.cms
Publication update: Our first paper is accepted in Mol. Syst. Des. Eng. (emerging investigator series) In the context of chemical separation, membrane based technologies are the most advanced and sustainable. One of the fundamental aspect of membrane based separation is molecular diffusivity. In this work we have demonstrated that molecular diffusivity in a porous thin film (which can act as a membrane) can be enhanced by atleast a factor of 2, if the nanochannles are aligned in a preferential way. More details can be found in the following link (https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2022/me/d2me00091a)
Research Grant: We have been awarded Infosys-TIFR leading reserach grant to study efficicincy of epitaxially grown membranes. It is a collaborative proposal with Dr. Jagannath Mondal and Dr. Vipin Agarwal from TIFR Hyderabad To learn more see the twitter thread from @TIFRH_buzz: https://twitter.com/TIFRH_buzz/status/1519255387895398401
Latest Publications
An anisotropic heterolayer metal-organic framework (MOF) membrane, composed of UiO-66-NH2 and ZIF-8, is synthesized using a sequential growth strategy. The membrane's pore anisotropy (ranging from 3.4 to 6 Å) and a distinct MOF-MOF interface with chemically crosslinked pores demonstrate enhanced CO2/N2 permselectivity compared to the performance of individual MOF membranes.
Molecular diffusion follows concentration gradient path. We have discovered that in a porous material, metal-organic framework, molecules can move orthogonal to the gradient. To know more: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-37739-8