Utilization of CO2 as a renewable feedstock to produce fuels/chemicals is a potential way to mitigate the effects of anthropogenic climate change. However, CO2 conversion technologies are still at a nascent stage and are limited by several technical challenges. Development of active, selective, and stable heterogeneous catalysts is key to the development of such technologies. This project will focus on the synthesis of tailor-made catalysts for the catalytic conversion of carbon dioxide into value-added chemicals or syngas or solid carbon with/without light irradiation.

In this project, the aim is to model deformation of synthetic biomimetic hydrogels – in the presence of loaded with animal cells. The hydrogel acts as an extracellular matrix. computational and theoretical analyses of the molecular deformation of polymer networks in the presence of solvent. The required background is Basic ChE or similar background sound college level Mathematics, with a good understanding in Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics. Background in Polymers would be good, but is not required.

(Theoretical and Computational)

In this project, the aim is to understand quantitatively the molecular elasticity of biopolymers with potential engineering applications. The first example is Spider Dragline Silk, which may be several times stronger than steel (after normalizing the density). The work involves computational and theoretical analyses of the molecular structure of the biopolymer system. The work involves some coding, but is mostly theory development.

We develop usable, closed form, but accurate molecular models as well as elasticity relationships for real polymers, incorporating structural aspects. The applications include synthetic as well as high performance Bio-sourced polymers. The required background is Basic ChE or similar background, with a good understanding in Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics. Background in Polymers would be good, but is not required.

(Theoretical and Computational)

We have developed a house-hold scale (16 litre), water purification device, based on nanoparticle-impregnated activated carbon (AC) composite, for disinfection of drinking water. It works by killing of microorganisms by metallic nanoparticles in the composite, whilst the AC part of the composite removes other organic and inorganic pollutants from water. This gives clean, drinking water, in our gravity-driven device, which does not need any electricity to flow water or kill microbes, as in a UV-lamp of a traditional filter, thereby saving energy.

Continuous monitoring of water quality parameters, like total dissolved solids, heavy metals, inorganic ions, organic pollutants etc.is an important measurement, to ascertain quality and use of a water body. This is critical for both a flowing water-stream (river, canal) or a stagnant water-pool, like a lake. To that end, in this project, one has to work with chemical reagants, which have been tested with both synthetic and field-water samples, for various species, like arsenic, fluoride, chromium, iron etc.

Many industrial fluids (like cement paste, paints, or drilling muds) are thixotropic. This means their viscosity decreases over time under constant shear (as the particle network breaks) and recovers when at rest (as the network reforms). However, the "path" to breaking is rarely the same as the "path" to reforming. This is known as rheological hysteresis. This project aims to use simulation to determine exactly how the the particle network changes during these cycles.

Microfluidics technology has been seen to have great potential in lab-on-a-chip applications including chemical analysis and diagnostics. However, flow control in these networks requires either a pneumatic or fluidic control layer over the microfluidic layer. Recent studies have shown that integrated flow control may be achieved by introducing capacitive elements or obstacles in the flow path so that system response becomes non-linear as required for flow switching.

The project involves simulation to determine the properties of a viscoelastic liquid from the film thickness coating a substrate when a drop of liquid is smeared onto the substrate. The film thickness is set by a combination of surface tension, elastic forces and viscous forces. The problem has application in devices used to measurement of viscoelastic properties from a drop of liquid

A coulter counter is a device that measures changes in impedance when a particle passes through an orifice placed between two electrodes. The impedance change is proportional to particle volume. The particle size can also be measured via light scattering. Here, the intensity of scatter from a particle is proportional to the square of its size. The goal of this project is to build an integrated flow cell that can integrate both these measurements. The project would involve both simulations and experiments.