2D Materials
Materialization of graphene, the first real two-dimensional (2D) zero band gap material, opened up a unified vision regarding the new perspectives and potential applications of 2D materials that include the layered van der Waals solids such as boron nitride, LMDCs, vanadium oxides, and the layered ionic solids. Our research work includes the tuning of band gap and electronic structure of MoS2, WS2, SnS2 etc, thus enhancing the structural, optical and magnetic properties which open new horizons in various applications. Our group is also working on the electrocatalysis, gas sensors, photodiode and biological applications of these 2D materials.
Organic Solar Cells
Development of conductive organic polymers led to the discovery of organic solar cells and fabrication of solar cells with organic materials improved the solar cell (or photovoltaic) technology to generate electricity in a cheaper way. The research in the organic solar cells has progressed significantly during the last decade due to their high-power conversion efficiency, flexibility, and possibility of low-cost fabrication via a roll-to-roll processing etc. Designing new molecules with different band gaps, use of different interfacial hole transporting and electron transporting buffer layers, utilization of different device architectures are some of the works carrying out in this direction. Our research mainly focuses on the improved performance of conventional and inverted organic solar cells by studying the proper band alignment of organic active layers with various solution processed oxide hole transport materials and electron transport materials.
Perovskite Solar Cells
Achieving cost effective, easily processable, efficient and versatile solar cell has always been a challenge for the scientific community. Solar cells based on organo-metal halide perovskites have recently emerged as a promising material for low cost, high-efficiency photovoltaic devices due to its superb light-harvesting characteristics, mechanical flexibility, light weight, ease of fabrication and environmental friendly nature. Our research mainly focuses to improve processing of these perovskite-based solar cells, we like to investigate on perovskite solar cells aiming to improve the efficiency through structural modification, band gap tuning of perovskite materials, substitution for Pb, employing higher-mobility and low-cost transport layers etc.
Nanomaterials and Devices
Nanomaterials is the field of material science symbolizing materials with at least one external dimension in the nanometre scale. Among these, low-dimensional nanomaterials with enhanced size-effect properties such as surface plasmon resonance, quantum confinement etc offer an unprecedented physical phenomena, reducing semiconductor devices down to atomic scale. Our group also focusses on the growth and characterization of various nanostructures of wide band gap oxide semiconductors and metals by physical and chemical methods for various applications.