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Prof. Abir De Sarkar

Professor (Scientist-G / Senior Professor H) & Dean (Faculty)

Prof. Dr. Abir De Sarkar is into high-performance scientific computing. He pursues research in the realm of Computational Nanoscience. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ He had his first postdoctoral stint at the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society, Berlin, Germany and the last one at Uppsala University, Sweden. In between, he served as a Research Scientist & Engineer on a Visiting Investigator Program between CEMES-CNRS, France and A*STAR, Singapore. He has been the recipient of the President of India, medal for the year 2000 for having topped all the postgraduate disciplines in Calcutta University. The CNR Rao Award for Excellence in Nano research for the year 2018 has been conferred upon him. ACS has recognized him in the top 3% of highly cited authors for 2019-2020, while the top cited paper award 2023 has been conferred upon him and his PhD scholars by IOP Publishing, UK. Prof. De Sarkar has published more than 100 papers to date. He has guided 5 students to the successful completion of their PhD and mentored postdoctoral fellows. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Bright & motivated students from (Physics, Applied Physics, Electronic Science and Engineering backgrounds) having their own fellowships such as JRF-NET are encouraged to apply for several PhD positions available with him.

Contact Information :

  • Low-dimensional/two-dimensional materials for different kinds of energy conversion and next-generation electronics. 

    Computational Nanoscience: Piezoelectricity, valleytronics, spintronics, photovoltaics, photocatalysis, energy conversion, next-generation electronics, self-powered flexible piezo-spintronics, carrier mobility, thermoelectricity (thermal to electrical energy conversion), Nanocatalysis (Activation and conversion of CO2 and hydrocarbons on nanosystems), Gas sensors, band gap and edge engineering in nanomaterials, optoelectronic and photophysical properties

    First principles (ab initio)  density functional theory (DFT)-based approaches, Ab initio transport calculations (DFT coupled to non-equilibrium Green's Function (NEGF)), Boltzmann Transport Equation, Quantum Physics & Materials Science

    Apart from the independent pursuit of research in the domain of Computational Nanoscience, the group collaborates with experimentalists and provides them with strong theoretical support. 

  • Our article entitled ‘Group-IV (A) Janus dichalcogenide monolayers and their interfaces straddle gigantic shear and in-plane piezoelectricity’, published in Nanoscale 13 (2021) 5460-5478 has been featured as the themed collection of the Nanoscale most popular 2021 Articles.

  • Heartiest congratulations to my Ph.D. student, Manish Kumar Mohanta on being conferred the prestigious ‘Karnataka DST Nanoscience Fellowship Award’ consisting of a cash prize of Rs. 50,000/- and a certificate at the Bengaluru India Nano 2022.

  • Prof. Abir De Sarkar was in National News in 2020 for his research activities on piezoelectricity in 2D materials.

    https://indiaeducationdiary.in/computer-based-nano-materials-by-inst-mohali-can-show-the-future-of-nano-electronics/

  • Hearty congratulations to the Group Alumni (5 former PhD students) for securing

    h-index ≥ 13 from their PhD work (publications), which is rare and unusual, even on an international scale  

    &

    1. Postdoc position at Virginia Commonwealth University, USA: Dr. Manish Kumar Mohanta

    2. Postdoc position at Michigan Technological University, USA, Institute of Nanotechnology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany & DST Inspire Faculty position, India: Dr. Ashima Rawat

    3. Postdoc position at Linkoping University, Sweden, preceded by a postdoc position on a prestigious Graphene flagship project, in Europe (Germany, France, Belgium): Dr. Nityasagar Jena

    4. Assistant Professor position at Gitam University, Bengaluru, India, preceded by a Postdoc position at CNRS Lab, Nancy France: Dr. Dimple

    5. Postdoc position at IIT Kanpur, India: Dr. Raihan Ahammed

  • Convened hands-on training DFT-Crystal in-person workshop (12-16 Feb. 2023) in collaboration with the University of Torino, Italy (Prof. Silvia Casassa, Prof. Bartolomeo Civalleri) & Michigan Technological University, USA (Prof. Ravi Pandey).

    Grateful to distinguished Prof. Puru Jena, Virginia Commonwealth University, USA and my postdoc mentor, Prof. Rajeev Ahuja (Director, IIT-Ropar & Professor, Uppsala University, Sweden), for their valuable time and mesmerizing lectures.

  • Department of Science and Technology, Government of India acknowledged our works where induction of superhigh out-of-plane piezoelectricity via stacking one monolayer over the other in the 2D nanostructure has been demonstrated.

    https://dst.gov.in/computer-based-nanomaterials-inst-mohali-can-show-future-nano-electronics

  • Our article titled 'Superhigh out-of-plane piezoelectricity, low thermal conductivity and photocatalytic abilities in ultrathin 2D van der Waals heterostructures of boron monophosphide and gallium nitride' published in Nanoscale 11 (2019) 21880-21890 has been specially selected to feature in an Editor’s Choice web collection focussing on computational nanomaterials research under the theme Computational studies of nanomaterials for energy, catalysis and electronics.

    It is the first report on out-of-plane piezoelectricity (d33) in 2D van der Waals heterostructures.The experimental verification of this theoretical prediction, followed subsequently and was duly acknowledged to be pioneering in Chem. Soc. Rev., 2022,51, 650-671, is truly rewarding!

Current Group Members

  • MOHD FAIZEE

    MOHD FAIZEE

    Email: mohd.ph23237@inst.ac.in

    Reg. No.: PH23237

  • MR. SHIVAM

    MR. SHIVAM

    Email: shivam.ph22204@inst.ac.in

    Reg. No.: PH22204

  • MS. ARNEET KAUR

    MS. ARNEET KAUR

    Email: arneet.ph21210@inst.ac.in

    Reg. No.: PH21210

  • MS. FATHIMA I S

    MS. FATHIMA I S

    Email: fathima.ph20246@inst.ac.in

    Reg. No.: PH20246

  • MS. HARSHITA SEKSARIA

    MS. HARSHITA SEKSARIA

    Email: harshita.ph20247@inst.ac.in

    Reg. No.: PH20247

  • MR. NILAKANTHA TRIPATHY

    MR. NILAKANTHA TRIPATHY

    Email: nilakantha.ph20248@inst.ac.in

    Reg. No.: PH20248

  • MR. AMAL KISHORE

    MR. AMAL KISHORE

    Email: amal.ph19236@inst.ac.in

    Reg. No.: PH19236

  • MS. ANU ARORA

    MS. ANU ARORA

    Email: anu.ph19228@inst.ac.in

    Reg. No.: PH19228

  • MR. PRADIP NANDI

    MR. PRADIP NANDI

    Email: pradip.ph19226@inst.ac.in

    Reg. No.: PH19226

Alumni

  • DR. MANISH KUMAR MOHANTA

    DR. MANISH KUMAR MOHANTA

    Reg. No.: PH16239 (Postdoc at Virginia Commonwealth University, USA)

    Designation: PhD Scholar

    Jan 2017 - May 2022

  • DR. RAIHAN AHAMMED

    DR. RAIHAN AHAMMED

    Reg. No.: PH18203 Postdoctoral Fellow, IIT Kanpur, India

    Designation: PhD Scholar

    Aug 2018 - Mar 2023

  • DR. ASHIMA RAWAT

    DR. ASHIMA RAWAT

    Reg. No.: PH16203, Awarded PhD on 24th July, 2021 Postdoctoral Fellow, Michigan Technological University, USA

    Designation: PhD Scholar

    Aug 2016 - Aug 2021

  • DR. NITYASAGAR JENA

    DR. NITYASAGAR JENA

    Reg. No.: Postdoc at Linkoping University, Sweden

    Designation: PhD Scholar

    Jan 2015 - Jul 2020

  • DR. DIMPLE

    DR. DIMPLE

    Reg. No.: PH14209; CNRS Postdoctoral Fellow, Nancy, France

    Designation: PhD Scholar

    Aug 2014 - Nov 2019

  • DR. SEEMA GAUTAM

    DR. SEEMA GAUTAM

    Reg. No.: Assistant Professor at Chandigarh University, Punjab

    Designation: Post Docs/RA

    Aug 2015 - Apr 2019

  • 1.

    Probing 2D Exciton Dynamics of Non-Hydrogenic Anisotropic Rydberg Spectra in Anomalous Screening Regime , Harshita Seksaria, Amal Kishore, Abir De Sarkar* , Journal of Physical Chemistry C , 2024 , accepted , 0000

  • 2.

    Facet Engineering by Sculpting Artificial Edges on 2D Black Phosphorus for Localized and Selective Piezoelectric Response , Manpreet Kaur, Pradip Nandi, Mamta Raturi, Himanshu Tyagi, Jyoti Saini, Tapaswini Dash, Akash Maharana, Km Neeshu, Anirban Kundu*, Abir De Sarkar*, Kiran Shankar Hazra* , ACS Applied Nano Materials , 2024 , 7 (6) , 6159–6168 , https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsanm.3c06095

  • 3.

    Insights into the origin of multiferroicity and large in-plane piezoelectricity in AlXY (X=S, Se; Y=Cl, Br, I) monolayers , Nilakantha Tripathy, Abir De Sarkar* , Physical Review B , 2024 , 109 , 125414 , https://journals.aps.org/prb/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevB.109.125414

  • 4.

    Advancing intrinsic carrier mobility estimation in transition metal trichalcogenide monolayers using DFT-BTE , Anu Arora, Abir De Sarkar* , Applied Physics Letters , 2024 , 124 , 082101 , https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0182633

  • 5.

    DFT Insights into Layer-Dependent Superhigh Piezoelectricity and Carrier Mobility in 2D Hexagonal SnNBr , Pradip Nandi and Abir De Sarkar , J. Phys. Chem. C , 2023 , 10.1021/acs.jpcc.3c04912

  • 6.

    Unconventional Anisotropy in Excitonic Properties and Carrier Mobility in Iodine-Based XTeI (X = Ga, In) Monolayers for Visible-Light Photocatalytic Water Splitting: , Amal Kishore, Nilakantha Tripathy, Abir De Sarkar , (2023) , 127: 1992-2002 , J. Phys. Chem. C , 10.1021/acs.jpcc.2c07367

  • 7.

    Origin of strain tunability in flat valence band and ultrahigh shear piezoelectricity in superflexible non–van der Waals graphitic Sc X monolayers ( X = P , As, Sb) , Harshita Seksaria, Arneet Kaur, and Abir De Sarkar , Phys. Rev. B , (2023) , 108 , 075426 , 10.1103/PhysRevB.108.075426

  • 8.

    Correlation between strain tunable piezoelectricity and Rashba effect in flexible Janus Ga2Ge2XY (X, Y = S, Se, and Te) monolayers with high carrier mobility , Arneet Kaur, Shivam Sharma, Pradip Nandi and Abir De Sarkar* , (2023) , 154: 15791 , Physica-E: Low-dimensional Systems and Nanostructures , 10.1016/j.physe.2023.115791

  • 9.

    Regulating Excitonic Effects in Non-Oxide Based XPSe3 (X=Cd, Zn) Monolayers towards Enhanced Photocatalysis for Overall Water Splitting , Amal Kishore, Harshita Seksaria, Anu Arora and Abir De Sarkar* , Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. , (2023) , 25: 20337-20349 , Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. , 10.1039/D3CP02196C

  • 10.

    Insights into selected 2D piezo Rashba semiconductors for self-powered flexible piezo spintronics: material to contact properties , Fathima IS, Manish Kumar Mohanta, Abir De Sarkar* , (2023) , 35: 253001 , Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter (invited topical review) , 10.1088/1361-648X/acc70f

  • 11.

    Engineering catalytically active sites by sculpting artificial edges on MoS2 basal plane for dinitrogen reduction at a low overpotential , Renu Rani, Ashmita Biswas, Raihan Ahammed, Taniya Purkait, Anirban Kundu, Subhajit Sarkar, Mamta Raturi, Abir De Sarkar*, Ramendra Sundar Dey*, Kiran Shankar Hazra* , (2023) , 2206357 , Small , 10.1002/smll.202206357

  • 12.

    Hexagonal and tetragonal ScX (X=P, As, Sb) nanosheets for optoelectronics and straintronics: , Harshita Seksaria, Arneet Kaur, Khushwant Singh, Abir De Sarkar , (2023) , 615: 156306 , Applied Surface Science , 10.1016/j.apsusc.2022.156306

  • 13.

    Compressive Strain-Induced Enhancement in Valley Polarization in β-Phosphorene like SnS Monolayers: , Fathima I S, R. Ahammed, P. Nandi, A. Rawat, and A. De Sarkar , (2023) , 611: 155675 , Applied Surface Science , 10.1016/j.apsusc.2022.155675

  • 14.

    Valley Hall effect in graphene-like Sn X ( X = Si, Ge) buckled monolayers with high charge carrier mobility and low lattice thermal conductivity: , Manish Kumar Mohanta, Fathima IS, and Abir De Sarkar , (2023) , 107: 035429 , Physical Review B , 10.1103/PhysRevB.107.035429

  • 15.

    Negative piezoelectricity and enhanced electrical conductivity at the interfaces of two-dimensional dialkali oxide and chalcogenide monolayers: , Anu Arora, Ashima Rawat, and Abir De Sarkar , (2023) , 107: 085402 , Phys. Rev. B , 10.1103/PhysRevB.107.085402

  • 16.

    Anisotropy in colossal piezoelectricity, giant Rashba effect and ultrahigh carrier mobility in Janus structures of quintuple Bi2X3 (X = S, Se) monolayers , Nilakantha Tripathy, Abir De Sarkar* , (2023) , 35: 335301 , Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter , doi:10.1088/1361-648X/acd49f

  • 17.

    Experimental and computational insights into luminescence in atomically precise bimetallic Au6-nCun(MPA)5 (n=0-2) clusters , Aarti Devi, Harshita Seksaria, Dipankar Bain, Sarita Kolay, Rashi, Abir De Sarkar* and Amitava Patra* , Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics , (2023 ) , 25 , 9513-9521 , 10.1039/D2CP05120F

  • 18.

    Nanoscale probing of surface potential landscape at MoS2/BP van der Waals p–n heterojunction: , Mamta Raturi, Arneet Kaur, Himanshu Tyagi, Monika Bhakar, Jyoti Saini, Manpreet Kaur, Abir De Sarkar and Kiran S Hazra , (2022) , 34: 095702 , Nanotechnology , 10.1088/1361-6528/aca61a

  • 19.

    Nanocatalytic interface to decode the phytovolatile language for latent crop diagnosis in future farms: , Chandel M., Kumar P., Arora A., Kataria S., Dubey S.C., Djanaguiraman M., Kaur K., Sahu B.K., Abir De Sarkar, Vijayakumar S.* , (2022) , 94: 11081-11088. , Analytical Chemistry , 10.1021/acs.analchem.2c02244

  • 20.

    Insights into CrS2 monolayer and -CrS2/-HfN2 interface for low-power digital and analog nanoelectronics: , Manish Kumar Mohanta,Harshita Seksaria,Abir De Sarkar* , (2022) , 579: 152211 , Applied Surface Science , 10.1016/j.apsusc.2021.152211

  • 21.

    Valley spin polarization in two-dimensional h - M N ( M = Nb, Ta) monolayers: Merger of valleytronics with spintronics: , Raihan Ahammed ,Abir De Sarkar , (2022) , 105: 045426 , Phys. Rev. B , 10.1103/PhysRevB.105.045426

  • 22.

    Interfacing 2D M2X (M = Na, K, Cs; X= O, S, Se, Te) monolayers for 2D excitonic and tandem solar cells: , Ashima Rawat,Anu Arora,Abir De Sarkar* , (2021) , 563: 150304 , Applied Surface Science , 10.1016/j.apsusc.2021.150304

  • 23.

    Group-IV(A) Janus dichalcogenide monolayers and their interfaces straddle gigantic shear and in-plane piezoelectricity: , Pradip Nandi,Ashima Rawat,Raihan Ahammed,Nityasagar Jena,Abir De Sarkar , (2021) , 5460-5478 , Nanoscale, 2021, 13 , 10.1039/D0NR07027K

  • 24.

    Hot Hole Cooling and Transfer Dynamics from Lead Halide Perovskite Nanocrystals Using Porphyrin Molecules: , Goutham Ghosh,Kritiman Marjit,Srijon Ghosh, Arnab Ghosh,Raihan Ahammed,Abir De Sarkar*,Amitava Patra* , (2021) , 5859–5869 , J. Phys. Chem. C 2021, 125, 10 , 10.1021/acs.jpcc.0c11289

  • 25.

    Conflux of tunable Rashba effect and piezoelectricity in flexible magnesium monochalogenide monolayers for next-generation spintronic devices: , Manish Kumar Mohanta,Anu Arora,Abir De Sarkar , (2021) , 13: 8210-8223 , Nanoscale , 10.1039/D1NR00149C

  • 26.

    Concurrence of negative in-plane piezoelectricity and photocatalytic properties in 2D ScAgP2S6 monolayers: , Ashima Rawat,Dimple,Raihan Ahammed,Abir De Sarkar , (2021) , 33: 375301 , Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter , 10.1088/1361-648X/ac0e6c

  • 27.

    Spin-current modulation in hexagonal buckled ZnTe and CdTe monolayers for self-powered flexible-piezo-spintronic devices: , Manish Kumar Mohanta,Fathima IS,Amal Kishore,Abir De Sarkar* , (2021) , ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces , 10.1021/acsami.1c09267

  • 28.

    Atomistic manipulation of interfacial properties in HfN2/MoTe2 van der Waals heterostructure via strain and electric field for next generation multifunctional nanodevice and energy conversion: , Manish Kumar Mohanta,Ashima Rawat,Abir De Sarkar* , (2021) , Applied Surface Science , 10.1016/j.apsusc.2021.150928

  • 29.

    Effective modulation of ohmic contact and carrier concentration in a graphene-Mg X ( X = S, Se) van der Waals heterojunction with tunable band-gap opening via strain and electric field: , Manish Kumar Mohanta,Anu Arora,Abir De Sarkar , (2021) , 104: 165421 , Phys. Rev. B , Phys. Rev. B 104, 165421

  • 30.

    Superhigh flexibility and out-of-plane piezoelectricity together with strong anharmonic phonon scattering induced extremely low lattice thermal conductivity in hexagonal buckled CdX (X= S, Se: , Manish Kumar Mohanta, Ashima Rawat, Nityasagar Jena,Raihan Ahammed,Abir De Sarkar* , (2020) , Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter , 10.1088/1361-648X/ab8d73

  • 31.

    ZrS3/MS2 and ZrS3/MXY (MMo, W; X, YS, Se, Te; X ≠ Y) type-II van der Waals hetero-bilayers: Prospective candidates in 2D excitonic solar cells: , Raihan Ahammed, Ashima Rawat, Nityasagar Jena, Dimple, Manish Kumar Mohanta,Abir De Sarkar* , (2020) , 499: 143894 , Applied Surface Science , 10.1016/j.apsusc.2019.143894

  • 32.

    Electronic, quantum transport and optical properties analysis of doped phosphorene sheet: , Sukhbir Singh, Abir De Sarkar, Inderpreet Kaur , (2020) , International Journal of Environmental Analytical Chemistry , 10.1080/03067319.2019.1686489

  • 33.

    Interfacing Boron Monophosphide with Molybdenum Disulfide for an Ultrahigh Performance in Thermoelectrics, Two-Dimensional Excitonic Solar Cells, and Nanopiezotronics: , Manish Kumar Mohanta, Ashima Rawat, Nityasagar Jena, Dimple, Raihan Ahammed, Abir De Sarkar* , (2020) , 12: 3114-3126 , ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces , 10.1021/acsami.9b16866

  • 34.

    Proton Triggered Fluorescence Switching in Self-Exfoliated Ionic Covalent Organic Nanosheets for Applications in Selective Detection of Anions: , Harpreet Singh, Manisha Devi, Nityasagar Jena, Mohamed Musthafa Iqbal, Yogendra Nailwal, Abir De Sarkar*, Santanu Kumar Pal* , (2020) , 12: 13248-13255 , ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces , 10.1021/acsami.9b20743

  • 35.

    Ultra-low lattice thermal conductivity and giant phonon-electric field coupling in hafnium dichalcogenide monolayers: , Dimple, Manish Kumar Mohanta, Ashima Rawat, Nityasagar Jena, Raihan Ahammed, Abir De Sarkar* , (2020) , 32 315301 , J. Phys.: Condens. Matter , 10.1088/1361-648X/ab7e5f

  • 36.

    Electrochemically customized assembly of a hybrid xerogel material via combined covalent and non-covalent conjugation chemistry: an approach for boosting the cycling performance of pseudocapa: , Yaniya Purkait, Dimple, Navpreet Kamboj, Manisha Das, Subhajit Sarkar, Abir De Sarkar, Ramendra Sundar Dey* , (2020) , 8: 6740-6756 , Journal of Materials Chemistry A , 10.1039/D0TA02477E

  • 37.

    Impact of transverse and vertical gate electric field on vibrational and electronic properties of MoS2: , Renu Rani, Nityasagar Jena, Anirban Kundu, Abir De Sarkar*, Kiran Shankar Hazra* , (2020) , 127: 145101 , Journal of Applied Physics , 10.1063/1.5131845

  • 38.

    Tweaking the physics of interfaces between monolayers of buckled cadmium sulfide for a superhigh piezoelectricity, excitonic solar cell efficiency and thermoelectricity: , Manish Kumar Mohanta, Abir De Sarkar* , (2020) , 12: 18123-18137 , ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces , 10.1021/acsami.0c00864

  • 39.

    Nanoscale Interfaces of Janus Monolayers of Transition Metal Dichalcogenides for 2D Photovoltaic and Piezoelectric Applications: , Ashima Rawat, Manish Kumar Mohanta, Nityasagar Jena, Dimple, Raihan Ahammed, Abir De Sarkar* , (2020) , Journal of Physical Chemistry C , 10.1021/acs.jpcc.0c02199

  • 40.

    The role of exfoliating solvents for control synthesis of few-layer graphene-like nanosheets in energy storage applications: Theoretical and experimental investigation: , Taniya Purkait, Raihan Ahammad, Abir De Sarkar, Ramendra Sundar Dey* , (2020) , 509: 145375 , Applied Surface Science , 10.1016/j.apsusc.2020.145375

  • 41.

    An Experimental and Theoretical Study into Interface Structure and Band Alignment of the Cu2Zn1-xCdxSnS4 Heterointerface for Photovoltaic Applications: , Sachin R. Rondiya, Yogesh Jadhav, Nelson Y. Dzade, Raihan Ahammed, Tanmay Goswami, Abir De Sarkar, Sandesh Jadkar, Santosh K. Haram, Hirendra N. Ghosh , (2020) , 3: 5153−5162 , ACS Applied Energy Materials , 10.1021/acsaem.9b02314

  • 42.

    Ultra-low thermal conductivity and super-slow hot-carrier thermalization induced by a huge phononic gap in multifunctional nanoscale boron pnictides: , Manish Kumar Mohanta, Dimple, Ashima Rawat, Nityasagar Jena, Raihan Ahammed, Abir De Sarkar* , (2020) , 124: 114222 , Physica E , 10.1016/j.physe.2020.114222

  • 43.

    Giant tunability in electrical contacts and doping via inconsiderable normal electric field strength or gating for a high-performance in ultrathin field effect transistors based on 2D BX/grap: , Manish Kumar Mohanta, Abir De Sarkar , (2020) , 526: 146749 , Applied Surface Science , 10.1016/j.apsusc.2020.146749

  • 44.

    Electronic Structure Modulation of 2D Colloidal CdSe Nanoplatelets by Au25 Clusters for High-Performance Photodetector: , Anusri Medda, Avisek Dutta, Dipankar Bain, Manish Kumar Mohanta, Abir De Sarkar, and Amitava Patra , (2020) , 19793–19801 , J. Phys. Chem. C 2020 ,124, 36, , 10.1021/acs.jpcc.0c04774

  • 45.

    Exceptional mechano-electronic properties in HfN2 monolayer: promising candidate in low-power flexible electronics, memory devices and photocatalysis: , Manish Kumar Mohanta, Fathima IS and Abir De Sarkar* , (2020) , 21275-21287 , Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys ,2020,22, , 10.1039/D0CP02999H

  • 46.

    Ultrahigh Out-of-Plane Piezoelectricity Meets Giant Rashba Effect in 2D Janus Monolayers and Bilayers of Group IV Transition Metal Tri-Chalcogenides: , Raihan Ahammed, Nityasagar Jena, Ashima Rawat, Manish Kumar Mohanta, Dimple and Abir De Sarkar* , (2020) , 21250–21260 , J. Phys. Chem. C 2020, 124, 39, , 10.1021/acs.jpcc.0c05134

  • 47.

    Two-dimensional ultrathin van der Waals heterostructures of indium selenide and boron monophosphide for superfast nanoelectronics, excitonic solar cells and digital data storage devices: , Manish Kumar Mohanta, Amal Kishore, Abir De Sarkar , (2020) , 31: 495208 , Nanotechnology , 10.1088/1361-6528/abaf20

  • 48.

    Interfacial hybridization of Janus MoSSe and BX (X= P, As) monolayers for ultrathin excitonic solar cell, nanopiezotronics and low-power memory devices: , Manish Kumar Mohanta and Abir De Sarkar , (2020) , 22645-22657 , Nanoscale, 2020,12, , 10.1039/D0NR07000A

  • 49.

    2D HfN2/graphene interface based Schottky device: unmatched controllability in electrical contacts and carrier concentration via electrostatic gating and out-of-plane strain: , Manish Kumar Mohanta and Abir De Sarkar , (2020) , 540: 148389 , Applied Surface Science , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2020.148389

  • 50.

    Electronic Band Structure and Ultrafast Carrier Dynamics of Two Dimensional (2D) Semiconductor Nanoplatelets (NPLs) in the Presence of Electron Acceptor for Optoelectronic Applications: , Avisek Dutta,Anusri Medda, Rajesh Bera,Ashima Rawat,Abir De Sarkar*,Amitava Patra* , (2020) , 26434–26442 , J. Phys. Chem. C 2020, 124, 48 , 10.1021/acs.jpcc.0c07083

  • 51.

    Coupled spin and valley polarization in monolayer HfN2 and valley-contrasting physics at the HfN2 -WSe2 interface: , Manish Kumar Mohanta and Abir De Sarkar* , (2020) , 102: 125414 , PHYSICAL REVIEW B , 10.1103/PhysRevB.102.125414

  • 52.

    Nano-hives for plant stimuli controlled targeted iron fertilizer application: , Bindra P., Kaur K., Rawat A., Abir De Sarkar, Monika Singh,Vijayakumar S.* , (2019) , 375: 121995 , Chemical Engineering Journal , 10.1016/j.cej.2019.121995

  • 53.

    Single-phase Ni5P4-Copper foam superhydrophilic and aerophobiccore-shell nanostructures for efficient hydrogen evolution reaction: , Manisha Das, Nityasagar Jena, Taniya Purkait, Navpreet Kamboj, Abir De Sarkar, Ramendra Sundar Dey* , (2019) , 10.1039/C9TA06729A: , Journal of Materials Chemistry A , 10.1039/C9TA06729A

  • 54.

    Superhigh out-of-plane piezoelectricity, low thermal conductivity and photocatalytic abilities in ultrathin 2D van der Waals heterostructures of Boron Monophosphide and Gallium Nitride: , Manish Kumar Mohanta, Ashima Rawat, Dimple, Nityasagar Jena, Raihan Ahammed,Abir De Sarkar* , (2019) , 11: 21880-21890 , Nanoscale , 10.1039/C9NR07586K

  • 55.

    Valley drift and valley current modulation in a strained monolayer MoS2: , Nityasagar Jena, Dimple, Raihan Ahammed, Ashima Rawat, Manish Kumar Mohanta,Abir De Sarkar , (2019) , 110: 165413 , Physical Review B , 10.1103/PhysRevB.100.165413

  • 56.

    Solar Energy Harvesting in Type II van der Waals Heterostructures of Semiconducting Group III Monochalcogenide Monolayers: , Ashima Rawat, Raihan Ahammed, Dimple Sharma, Nityasagar Jena, Manish Kumar Mohanta,Abir De Sarkar* , (2019) , 123: 12666-12675 , Journal of Physical Chemistry C , https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.9b03359

  • 57.

    A comprehensive study in carrier mobility and artificial photosynthetic properties in Group VI B transition metal dichalcogenide monolayers: , Ashima Rawat, Nityasagar Jena, Dimple,Abir De Sarkar* , (2018) , 6: 8693-8704 , Journal of Materials Chemistry A , 10.1039/C8TA01943F

  • 58.

    Emergence of high piezoelectricity along with robust electron mobility in Janus structures in semiconducting Group IVB dichalcogenide monolayers: , Dimple, Nityasagar Jena, Ashima Rawat, Raihan Ahammed, Manish Kumar Mohanta, Abir De Sarkar* , (2018) , 6: 24885-24898 , Journal of Materials Chemistry A , 10.1039/C8TA08781D

  • 59.

    A comparative and a systematic study on the effects of B, N doping and C-atom vacancies on the band gap in narrow zig-zag graphene nanoribbons via quantum transport calculations: , Sukhbir Singh,Abir De Sarkar,Inderpreet Kaur , (2017) , 87: 167–176 , Materials Research Bulletin , 10.1016/j.materresbull.2016.11.038

  • 60.

    Electronic structure modification of the KTaO3 single-crystal surface by Ar+ bombardment: , N. Wadehra,R. Tomar,S. Halder,M. Sharma,I. Singh,N. Jena,B. Prakash,A. D. Sarkar,C. Bera,A. Venkatesan,S. Chakraverty , (2017) , 96: 115423(6) , Physical Review B , 10.1103/PhysRevB.96.115423

  • 61.

    Controlled formation of nanostructures on MoS2 layers by focused laser irradiation: , Renu Rani, Dimple, Nityasagar Jena, Anirban Kundu,Kiran Shankar Hazra*,Abir De Sarkar* , (2017) , 110: 083101 , Applied Physics Letters , 10.1063/1.4976692

  • 62.

    Nano-structured hybrid Molybdenum Carbides / Nitrides generated in-situ for HER Applications; , Rajinder Kumar, Ritu Rai, Seema Gautam, Abir De Sarkar, N. Tiwari, Shambhu Nath Jha, Dibyendu Bhattacharyya, Ashok K Ganguli,Vivek Bagchi* , (2017) , J. Mater. Chem. A, , 10.1039/C7TA01815K

  • 63.

    Strain Induced Optimization of Nanoelectromechanical Energy Harvesting and Nanopiezotronic Response in MoS2 Monolayer Nanosheet: , Nityasagar Jena, Dimple, Shounak Dhananjay Behere,Abir De Sarkar* , (2017) , 121: 9181–9190 , Journal of Physical Chemistry C , https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.7b01970

  • 64.

    Nano-structured hybrid Molybdenum Carbides / Nitrides generated in-situ for HER Applications; , Rajinder Kumar, Ritu Rai, Seema Gautam, Abir De Sarkar, N. Tiwari, Shambhu Nath Jha, Dibyendu Bhattacharyya, Ashok K Ganguli,Vivek Bagchi* , (2017) , J. Mater. Chem. A, , 10.1039/C7TA01815K

  • 65.

    Compressive strain induced enhancement in thermoelectric-power-factor in monolayer MoS2 nanosheet: , Dimple, Nityasagar Jena,Abir De Sarkar , (2017) , 29: 225501 , Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter , 10.1088/1361-648X/aa6cbc

  • 66.

    Strain and pH facilitated artificial photosynthesis in monolayer MoS2 nanosheet: , Dimple, Nityasagar Jena, Ashima Rawat, Abir De Sarkar* , (2017) , 5: 22265-22276 , Journal of Materials Chemistry A , 10.1039/C7TA06747J

  • 67.

    Electronic and Transport behavior of doped Armchair Silicene Nanoribbon Exhibiting Negative Differential Resistances and its FET Performance: , Sukhbir Singh,Abir De Sarkar,Bijender Singh,Inderpreet Kaur , (2017) , 1: 12783–12792 , RSC Advances , 10.1039/C6RA27101D

  • 68.

    Influence of Boron Substitution on Conductance of Pyridine- and Pentane-Based Molecular Single Electron Transistors: First-Principles Analysis: , Srivastava, B. Santhibhushan, V. Sharma, K. Kaur, Md. Shahzad Khan, Madura Marathe,Mohd. Shahid Khan, Abir De Sarkar , (2016) , 45: 2233–2241 , J of Electronic Materials , https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-015-4287-2

  • 69.

    Dual response of graphene based ultrasmall molecular junction to defect engineering: , K.-P. Dou, X.-X. Fu,R.-Q. Zhang,Abir De Sarkar , (2016) , 9: 1480–1488 , Nanoresearch , 10.1007/s12274-016-1044-7

  • 70.

    Dual response of graphene based ultrasmall molecular junction to defect engineering: , K.-P. Dou, X.-X. Fu,R.-Q. Zhang,Abir De Sarkar , (2016) , 9: 1480–1488 , Nanoresearch , 10.1007/s12274-016-1044-7

  • 71.

    A systematic investigation on acetylene activation and hydracyanation of the activated acetylene on Au_n (n=3-10) clusters via density functional theory: , Seema Gautam,Abir De Sarkar , (2016) , 18: 13830-13843 , Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys , 10.1039/C6CP01714B

  • 72.

    Tailoring the transmission lineshape spectrum of zigzag graphene nanoribbon based heterojunctions via controlling their width and edge protrusions: , K.P. Dou, X.X. Fu, Abir De Sarkar, R.Q. Zhang , (2015) , 7: 20003-20008 , Nanoscale , 10.1039/C5NR05736A

  • 73.

    Improvement in the desorption of H2 from the MgH2 (110) surface by means of doping and mechanical strain: , W.-W. Sun, T. Hussain, A. De Sarkar, T. A. Maark, R. Ahuja , Computational Materials Science , (2014) , 86: 165-169

  • 74.

    Electronic charge transport through ZnO nanoribbons: , Abir De Sarkar*, Rajeev Ahuja , Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids@Elsevier , (2014) , 75: 1223-1228 , 10.1016/j.jpcs.2014.06.009

  • 75.

    Shear strain induced indirect to direct transition in band gap in AlN monolayer nanosheet: , P. Liu, A. De Sarkar, R. Ahuja , (2014) , 86: 206-210 , Computational Materials Science

  • 76.

    Electronic and Vibrational Properties of Stable Isomers of (SiO)n(0,±) (n = 2-7) Clusters: , Hongbo Du, Shuping Huang, Abir De Sarkar, Wenjie Fan, Yu Jia, Ruiqin Zhang , (2014) , 8893–8900 , Journal of Physical Chemistry-A

  • 77.

    Screening study of light-metal and transition-metal-doped NiTiH hydrides as Li-ion battery anode materials: , Z. Qian, X. Jiang, Abir De Sarkar, T. A. Maark, M. D. Deshpande, M. Bououdina, B. Johannson, R. Ahuja , (2014) , 258: 88-91 , Solid State Ionics , 10.1016/j.ssi.2014.02.007

  • 78.

    Functionalization of hydrogenated graphene by polylithiated species for efficient hydrogen storage: , T. Hussain, Abir De Sarkar, R. Ahuja , (2014) , 39: 2560-2566 , International Journal of Hydrogen Energy , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2013.11.083

  • 79.

    Strain-induced stabilization of Al functionalization in graphene oxide nanosheet for enhanced NH3 storage: , Y. Li, A De Sarkar*, B. Pathak, R. Ahuja , (2013) , 102: 243905 , Applied Physics Letters

  • 80.

    Hexagonal boron nitride sheet decorated by polylithiated species for efficient and reversible hydrogen storage: , T. Hussain, A. De Sarkar, T. W. Kang, R. Ahuja , (2013) , 5: 1-7 , Science of Advanced Materials

  • 81.

    Size dependent catalytic effect of TiO2 clusters in water dissociation: , Haisheng Li, Abir De Sarkar, Qiang Sun, Yu Jia, Rui-Qin Zhang,Hongbo Du , (2013) , 366: 163-170 , Journal of Molecular Catalysis A

  • 82.

    Pure and Li-doped NiTiH: potential anode materials for Li-ion rechargeable batteries: , Z. Qian, A. De Sarkar*, T. A. Maark, X. Jiang, M. Deshpande, M. Bououdina, R. Ahuja , (2013) , 103: 033902 , Applied Physics Letters

  • 83.

    TiO2 based gas sensor: a possible application to SO2: , J. Nisar, Z. Topalian, A. De Sarkar, L. Osterlund, R. Ahuja , (2013) , 5: 8516–8522 , ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

  • 84.

    Hydrogen storage in polylithiated BC3 monolayer sheet: , Y. Li, T. Hussain, A. De Sarkar, R. Ahuja , (2013) , 170: 39-43 , Solid State Communications

  • 85.

    Inducing novel electronic properties in Ge nanowires by variations in its size, shape and strain: a first-principles computational study: , Chao Zhang, Abir De Sarkar, Rui-Qin Zhang , J. Phys.: Condens. Matter , (2012) , 24: 015301 , 015301 , 10.1088/0953-8984/24/1/015301

  • 86.

    Strain induced Li functionalized graphane as a high capacity hydrogen storage material: , Tanveer Hussain, Abir De Sarkar, Rajeev Ahuja , (2012) , 101: 103907 (5 pages) , Applied Physics Letters

  • 87.

    Characteristic vibrational modes of H2O adsorbed molecularly and dissociatively on titanium oxide clusters: , Hongbo Du, Abir De Sarkar, Yu Jia, Rui-Qin Zhang , (2012) , 11(6): 1289-1295 , Journal of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry

  • 88.

    First-principles study on the origin of ferromagnetism in n-type Cu-doped ZnO: , D. Q. Fang, A. De Sarkar, R.Q. Zhang , Solid State Communications , (2012) , 152: 1057 , 1057

  • 89.

    Polylithiated (OLi2) functionalized graphane as a potential hydrogen storage material: , Tanveer Hussain, Tuhina Adit Maark, Abir De Sarkar, Rajeev Ahuja , (2012) , 101: 243902 (4 pages) , Applied Physics Letters

  • 90.

    Surface nitrogenation induced thermal conductivity attenuation in silicon nanowires: , H. P. Li, A. De Sarkar, R. Q. Zhang , (2011) , 96: 56007 , Europhys. Lett.

  • 91.

    Strain induced band dispersion engineering in silicon nanosheet: , Chao Zhang, Abir De Sarkar, Rui-Qin Zhang , (2011) , 115: 23682 , Journal of Physical Chemistry C

  • 92.

    Conductivity enhancement by surface chemistry in silicon nanowires: , Kun-Peng Dou, Abir De Sarkar, Rui-Qin Zhang , (2011) , 1: 177 , Nanoscience & Nanotechnology-ASIA

  • 93.

    Manipulating Molecular Quantum States with Classical Metal Atom Inputs: Demonstration of a Single Molecule NOR Logic Gate: , W.-H. Soe, C. Manzano, A. De Sarkar, N. Renaud, P. de Mendoza, F. Ample, M. Hliwa, A. M. Echavarren, N. Chandrasekhar,C. Joachim , (2011) , 5: 1436-1440 , American Chemical Society (ACS) NANO

  • 94.

    Intramolecular Torsion Based Molecular Switch Functionality Enhanced in π-Conjugated Oligomolecules by a π-Conjugated Pendant Group: , K. P. Dou, Abir De Sarkar, C. L. Wang, R. Q. Zhang , (2011) , 115: 13911- 13918 , Journal of Physical Chemistry C

  • 95.

    The electronic transparency of a single CO molecule at contact: , Abir De Sarkar*, Francisco Ample, Christian Joachim , (2010) , 484: 237 – 241 , Chemical Physics Letters

  • 96.

    Conformational dependence of tag induced intramolecular STM contrast in hexaphenylbenzene molecules" , Abir De Sarkar, Carlos Manzano, We-Hyo Soe, Natarajan Chandrasekhar,Andre Gourdon,Christian Joachim , (2009) , 603: L57-L61 , Surface Science Letters

  • 97.

    Direct Observation of Molecular Orbitals of Pentacene Physisorbed on Au(111) by Scanning Tunneling Microscope: , W.-H. Soe, C. Manzano, A. De Sarkar, N. Chandrasekhar,C. Joachim , (2009) , 102: 176102-176104 , Physical Review Letters

  • 98.

    Comparison of the full-potential and frozen-core approximation approaches to density-functional calculations of surfaces: , Adam Kiejna, Georg Kresse, Jutta Rogal, Abir De Sarkar, Karsten Reuter, and Matthias Scheffler , (2006) , 73: 035404-1 to 035404-8 , Physical Review B

  • 99.

    CO oxidation and NO reduction over supported Pt-Rh and Pd-Rh nanocatalysts : A comparative study: , Abir De Sarkar, Badal C. Khanra , (2005) , 229: 25 – 29 , Journal of Molecular Catalysis A

  • 100.

    Microkinetic model studies of impurity effects on CO+O2, CO+NO and CO+NO+O2 reactions on supported Pt-Rhnanocatalysts", Chemical Physics Letters: , Abir De Sarkar, Badal C. Khanra , (2004) Chemical Physics Letters , 384: 339 – 343 , Chemical Physics Letters

  • 101.

    Microkinetic model studies of alloying effects on the CO+NO+O2 reactions over Pt-Rh nanocatalysts: , Abir De Sarkar, Badal C. Khanra , (2004) , 43A: 464 – 472 , Indian Journal of Chemistry

  • 102.

    Model studies on segregation and catalytic properties of supported Pt-Rh nanocatalysts: , Abir De Sarkar, Badal C. Khanra , (2004) , 43A: 1033 – 1038 , Indian Journal of Chemistry

  • 103.

    Impurity and Support Effects on the surface composition and the energetics of CO+NO reaction over Pt-Rh/CeO2 nanocatalysts: , Badal C. Khanra, Abir De Sarkar , (2003) International Journal of Modern Physics B , 17: 4831 – 4839

  • 104.

    MC model studies of Ceria-metal interaction in Pt-Rh nanocatalysts: , Abir De Sarkar, Badal C. Khanra , (2002) Indian Journal of Chemistry , 41A: 1784 – 1788

  • 105.

    Influence of sulphur on the shell composition of Pt-Rh nanocatalysts : a theoretical model: , Abir De Sarkar, Badal C. Khanra , (2002) , 353: 426 – 430 , Chemical Physics Letters

  • 106.

    Effect of temperature and adsorbates on the composition profile of Pt-Rh nanocatalysts: a comparative study: , Abir De Sarkar, Badal C. Khanra , (2002) , 315: 82 – 87 , Physica B

  • 107.

    Truxene based Porous, Crystalline Covalent Organic Frameworks and it’s Applications in Humidity Sensing: , Harpreet Singh, Vijay K. Tomer, Nityasagar Jena, Indu Bala, Nidhi Sharma, Devadutta Nepak, Abir De Sarkar*, Kamalakannan Kailasam, Santanu Pal* , ( 2017) , 5: 21820-21827 , Journal of Materials Chemistry A , 10.1039/C7TA05043G

  • 108.

    Strain-induced tunability of optical and photocatalytic properties of ZnO mono-layer nanosheet: , T. Kaewmaraya, A. De Sarkar, B. Sa, Z. Sun, R. Ahuja , ( 2014) , 91: 38-42 , Computational Materials Science

  • 109.

    Excited state property of silicon quantum dots: , R. Q. Zhang, Abir De Sarkar, Thomas A. Niehaus, Thomas Frauenheim , ( 2012) , 249: 401-412 , Physica Status Solidi B

  • 110.

    A NOR logic gate using a single molecule and two surface gold atoms to encode the logical input: , W.-H. Soe, C. Manzano, A. De Sarkar, F. Ample, N. Chandrasekhar, N. Renaud, P. de Mendoza, A. M. Echavarren, M. Hliwa ,C. Joachim , ( 2011) , 83: 155443-1 to 155443-8 , Physical Review B

  • Prof. CNR Rao Award for Excellence in Nanoresearch for the year 2018

    Recipient of the President of India, medal for the year 2000 for having topped all the postgraduate disciplines in the Calcutta University.

    Top 3% highly cited authors 2019-2020 by the American Chemical Society (ACS)

    Top cited paper award 2023 by IOP Publishing, UK

    Recognized as an outstanding reviewer for Nanoscale (RSC, UK) and the Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter (IOP, UK)

    Accorded "Trusted Reviewer" status by IOP Publishing, UK in 2023

    Awarded Max-Planck (postdoctoral) Fellowship at the Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft (Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society), Berlin-Dahlem, Germany from 2004 to 2005

    Awarded Postdoctoral Fellowship by the Wenner-Gren Stiftelserna/Foundation, Sweden

    Awarded Junior Research Fellowship between August, 1999 and August, 2001; Awarded Senior Research Fellowship between September, 2001 and April, 2004 by the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics (SINP), Kolkata, India

    Awarded National Scholarship based on performance in B.Sc. (Honors) in Physics, i.e., (10+2+3) examination, held in 1997

    (Studied at St. Xavier's College, Kolkata)

    Awarded National Scholarship based on performance in the Higher Secondary, i.e., (10+2) examination, held in 1994

    Qualified the National Eligibility Test (NET) in 2000, a national level competitive examination, conducted by the Council of Scientific-and-Industrial Research (CSIR), India; Awarded Joint CSIR-Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) and Eligibility for Lecturership in Physical Sciences under the CSIR-scheme.

    Obtained 97.84 percentile in Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering, 2000 (GATE-2000), a national level competitive examination, conducted by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). All India Rank - 34

  • Professor (Scientist-G): Institute of Nano Science and Technology, Knowledge City, Sector 81, Manauli, Mohali, Punjab - 140306 (January 2024 till date)

    Professor (Scientist-F): Institute of Nano Science and Technology, Knowledge City, Sector 81, Manauli, Mohali, Punjab - 140306 (January 2020 December 2023)

    Associate Professor (Scientist E): Institute of Nanoscience and Technology (INST), Habitat Centre, Phase-X, Sector-64, Mohali-160 062, Punjab, India (March 2014 to December 2019 )

    Assistant Professor, Department of Physics: Central University of Rajasthan, Tehsil: Kishangarh, Dist. Ajmer, India (April 2013 to March 2014 )

    Wenner-Gren Researcher/Forskare at KTH (Royal Institute of Technology), Stockholm, Sweden & Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden (August 2011 to April 2013 )

    Senior Research Associate at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering: City University of Hong Kong (June 2010 to June 2011 )

    Research Scientist & Engineer on a A*STAR Visiting Investigator Program (VIP) between CEMES-CNRS, Toulouse, France and A*STAR,Singapore at the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE-A*STAR), Singapore (May 2005 to May 2010 )

    Max Planck Postdoctoral Fellow: Fritz Haber Institute of the Max-Planck Society, Berlin, Germany (May 2004 to April 2005 )

    Completed Ph.D. in Physics (from September, 2000 - April, 2004) from the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics: DAE Institute, Kolkata (February 2000 to May 2004)

    Completed Post M.Sc. (course work before PhD) from the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Kolkata in 1999-2000

    Completed M.Sc. (Physics) in 1997-1999 from Calcutta University as Topper (First Class First)

    Studied B.Sc. (Hons.) in Physics from St. Xavier's College, Kolkata in 1994-1997

  • Title: Atomic-scale investigation of the nanopiezotronic properties in semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenide monolayers via first-principles electronic structure methods

    PI: Prof. Abir De Sarkar

    Funding Amount: Rs. 56,29,600

    Tenure: 3 years

    Funding Agency: DST (Nanomission), GoI

  • Title: CO2 and hydrocarbon conversion on Mo-based nanocatalysts

    PI: Prof. Abir De Sarkar

    Funding Amount: 2 lacs research grant per year + NPDF Fellowship

    Tenure: 2 years

    Funding Agency: DST-SERB (NPDF)

  • Title: Computational design of 2D materials and their interfaces for a high out-of-plane piezoelectricity

    PI: Prof. Abir De Sarkar

    Funding Amount: ~ 37 lacs

    Tenure: March, 2024

    End Date: 31-Mar-2027

    Funding Agency: Core Research Grant (CRG) - SCIENCE & ENGINEERING RESEARCH BOARD (SERB)