Dr. Swati Sharma's Talk

Jan 10, 2019 - 16:00

Jan 10, 2019 - 17:00

Room 118 Chemical Engg Dept

Seminars

Dr. Swati Sharma Advanced Carbon Materials and Devices Karlsruhe Institute of Technology Germany

Abstract: When organic polymers are heat-treated beyond their degradation temperature in the absence of oxygen they yield volatile hydrocarbons as well as various solid carbon forms composed of three-dimensional graphenic networks. This thermochemical decomposition of organic materials is known as pyrolysis and conducting pyrolysis for obtaining high-quality carbon for technological applications is defined as PoCaTech. Polymers can be pyrolyzed in bulk such as in the case of converting waste into energy; or can be micro/ nano patterned using lithographic techniques prior to their pyrolysis for device fabrication. The microstructure and properties of the resulting carbon differ in each case. This talk will be focused on various aspects of preparation and utilization of pyrolytic carbons including (i) their classification and structure-property relationship (ii) influence of polymer composition and pyrolysis conditions on the ensuing material and (iii) some unconventional applications such as AFM tips 3D cell culture scaffolds neural sensors and magnetic MEMS. Pyrolysis efficiency state-of-the-art characterization techniques such as in situ transmission electron microscopy of polymer-to-carbon conversion and novel pathways of fabricating flexible devices with pyrolytic carbon will also be touched upon.Bio: Dr. Swati Sharma currently leads the Advanced Carbon Materials and Devices research group at the Institute of Microstructure Technology Karlsruhe Institute of Technology Germany. She obtained her M.S./ Ph.D. from the University of California Irvine USA in 2013 in the field of Materials and Manufacturing Technology. Prior to this she completed her Bachelor/ Master dual degree in Chemical Engineering and Chemistry from BITS Pilani India and worked as a Research Scientist for over 4 years at Ranbaxy Research Laboratories Gurgaon. She has been a Vising Scientist at the Indian Institute of Technology Mandi under the framework of an Indo-German cooperative science project. She also receives funding from the Ministry of Science Research and Arts Germany for her research group. Her interests include fabrication of carbon devices on silicon and flexible substrates and waste polymer treatment using advanced pyrolysis techniques. She is working on a book entitled “Carbon for Micro and Nano Devices” with DeGruyter publishing house Germany and has published the outcome of her research in various peer-reviewed journal articles conference proceedings and book chapters. Further details about her research can be found here: https://www.imt.kit.edu/sharma.php .