Nanoscale Lab | World of Nanodimensions

Research Areas

World of Nanodimensions

Energy Storage

We are focusing on current and future trends of market in terms of energy storage. We are predominantly working in supercapacitor applications. Our prime focus is to deveop supercapacitor devices using carbon based 1 D nanostructures and their hybrid with TMO and TMDC’s.

Nanomechanics

Mechanical properties of materials at nanoscale especially properties of surfaces and small structures are important and attractive to use nanomaterials for various applications. We use in-situ nanoindentation for investigating temperature dependent mechanical, tribological properties at very low loads. We also explore how mechanical force modulates the electrical properties of materials at nanoscale by contact resistance measurements.

Smart materials

Smart materials such as shape memory alloys, VO2 that undergo phase transition are attractivefor developing actuator, sensor, electrical devices and portable cooling applications.We are interested in both fundamental aspects triggering phase transition by different external stimuli and making novel hybrid smart structures.

Electron Microscopy

Electron microscopy is essential tool for nanotechnology and nanomanufacturing. We use FESEM along with e-beam lithography for making nonpatterns and devices. Detailed microstructural and crystallographic investigations of developed materials and thin films are routinely carried out using EBSD and TEM. In situ-TEM is another key growing thread in our group to visualize growth and phase transition.

About Us

The research on nanotechnology is taking a rapid path towards nanomanufacturing to materialize breakthroughs of nanoscience and nanotechnology in to practical reality. The main objective of the nanoscale materials and devices laboratory at IIT Mandi is to achieve controlled growth of various 1D, 2D materials and thin films to overcome the fundamental challenges in nanomanufacturing and to develop devices. Our group is focused towards industrial needs in the areas of nanoelectronics, nanomechanics, energy, smart materials and sensors. Understanding the microstructure and organization of nanostructures are critical for controlling their electrical, optical, mechanical and catalytic properties. Such understanding will provide the ability to control the growth and design of nanostructures and can serve as roadmap in manufacturing nanoscale devices. Manufacturing at nanoscale involves large scale, reliable, economic and controlled production of nanoscale materials, structures, devices and requires interdisciplinary research approach. We use this interdisiplinary materials engineering approach with our expertise on vapor phase growth, electron microscopy, nanomechanics and several in-situ characterization methods to solve problems related to nanoscale materials and devices for various applications. Our group’s current materials of interests are aligned CNTs, CVD graphene, MoS2 and smart materials such as VO2 that shows abrupt property change across the phase transition. Being a materials group, we are always interested to discuss and collaborate with motivated researchers from applied physics, materials chemistry, electrical and mechanical engineering and across other disciplines.

Our Team

Our team working on different areas of nano regime comes from different educational background. This makes the Nanoscale lab a diversified research lab where we are exploring the nanoscience and technology in almost all domains to serve the society.

Dr. B. Viswanath

Associate professor
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piyush avasthi

Ph.D scholar
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Research fellow at CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, New delhi
Research Fellow at DRDO-Defence Institute of Advanced Technology, Pune, Maharshtra
M.Tech in Nanotechnology from Centre for Converging Technologies, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur, Rajasthan

Divya Verma

Ph.D scholar
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Integrated M.tech in Nanotechnology, Central University of Jharkhand, Ranchi, India

Nitika Arya

Ph.D scholar
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MSc. in Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology, Mandi.
B.Sc.(Hons.) in Chemistry, MLSM College, Sundernagar, Himachal Pradesh University

Deepa Thakur

Ph.D Scholar
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MSc. in Chemistry, I.I.T. Mandi

B Raju Naik

Ph.D. Scholar
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M.Tech (VLSI) : Indian Institute of Technology – Mandi

Featured Publications

2016 & After

59. Divya Verma, Davinder Singh, Pawan Kumar, Piyush Avasthi, ViswanathBalakrishnan. “Gram Scale Synthesis of Monoclinic VO2 Microcrystals by Hydrothermal and Argon Annealing Treatment”. Ceramics International, 2019, 43, 3554-3562.
58. Piyush Avasthi, Akash Kumar, Viswanath Balakrishnan. “Aligned CNT Forests on Stainless Steel Mesh for Flexible Supercapacitor Electrode with High Capacitance and Power Density”. ACS Applied Nanomaterials, 2019, 2, 3, 1484-1495.
57. Piyush Avasthi, Viswanath Balakrishnan. “Tuning the Wettability of Vertically Aligned CNT–TiO2 Hybrid Electrodes for Enhanced Supercapacitor Performance”. Advanced Materials Interfaces, 2019, 1801842, 1-9.
56.Piyush Avasthi, Viswanath Balakrishnan,Electroless Growth of High Surface Area Au Dendrites with Corrugated Edge Structure for Hybrid Supercapacitor Applications, ChemistrySelect 2018, 3, 3866 – 3870
55. Pawan Kumar, Navneet Chandra Verma, Natasha Goyal, Jayeeta Biswas, Saurabh Lodha, Chayan Kanti Nandi, Viswanath Balakrishnan, Phase engineering of seamless heterophase homojunctions with co-existing 3R and 2H phases in WS2 monolayers, Nanoscale,10, 3320-3330 (2018)
54. Pawan Kumar and Viswanath Balakrishnan, Growth and microstructural evolution of WS2 nanostructures with tunable field and light modulated electrical transport, Applied Surface Science, 436, 846-853 (2018)
53. Pawan Kumar, B. Viswanath, Nanosculpting of Atomically Thin 2D Materials for Site-Specific Photoluminescence Modulation, Advanced Optical Materials ,1701284 (2018)
52. Piyush Avasthi, Davinder Singh, B. Viswanath, In situ nanomechanical properties of gold (111) microplates grown on silicon (100) substrate, under progress
51. Davinder Singh, B. Viswanath, Direct measurement of nanomechanical actuation across phase transition in VO2 crystals, Scripta Materialia, 141, 24-27 (2017)
50. Pawan Kumar, B. Viswanath. Horizontally and vertically aligned growth of strained MoS2 layers with dissimilar wetting and catalytic behavior, CrystEngComm,19, 5068-5078 (2017)
49. Davinder Singh, C.S. Yadav, B. Viswanath. Magnetoresistance across metal–insulator transition in VO2 micro crystals, Materials Letters (2017), doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.matlet.2017.03.066
48. Davinder Singh, B. Viswanath. In situ nanomechanical behavior of co-existing insulating and metallic domains in VO2 microbeams. J Mater Sci (2017)doi:10.1007/s10853-017-0792-4
47. Viswanath Balakrishnan, Mostafa Bedewy, Eric R Meshot, Sebastian W Pattinson, Erik S Polsen, Fabrice Laye, Dmitri N Zakharov, Eric A Stach, A John Hart. Real-Time Imaging of Self-Organization and Mechanical Competition in Carbon Nanotube Forest Growth, ACS Nano, 10 (12), 11496–11504 (2016)
46. Pawan Kumar, Viswanath Balakrishnan. Effect of sulfur evaporation rate on screw dislocation driven growth of MoS2 with high atomic step density, Crystal Growth & Design 16 (12), 7145-7154 (2016)
45. M Bedewy, V Balakrishnan, ER Meshot, DN Zakharov, EA Stach, AJ Hart. Measurement of the Dewetting, Nucleation, and Deactivation Kinetics of Carbon Nanotube Population Growth by Environmental Transmission Electron Microscopy,Chemistry of Materials,28 (11), 3804–3813 (2016)
44. B Mallesham, B Viswanath, R Ranjith. Effect of crystal structure and cationic order on phonon modes across ferroelectric phase transformation in Pb (Fe0. 5-xScxNb0. 5) O3 bulk ceramics, AIP Advances 6 (1), 015116 (2016)

2015 & before

43. S. Pattinson, B. Viswanath, D. Zakharov, J. Li, E.A. Stach, A.J. Hart. Mechanism and enhanced yield of carbon nanotube growth on stainless steel by oxygen-induced surface reconstruction, Chemistry of Materials 27(3),932 (2015)
42. DN Zakharov, M Bedewy, B Viswanath, Fast Imaging of Carbon Nanotube Carpet Growth by Environmental TEM, Microscopy and Microanalysis, 21(S3), 2327 (2015)
41. ES Polsen, DQ McNerny, B Viswanath, SW Pattinson, AJ Hart, High-speed roll-to-roll manufacturing of graphene using a concentric tube CVD reactor, Scientific Reports 5, 10257 (2015)
40. B Viswanath, S Ramanathan, Visualizing Phase Transition Induced Actuation in Vanadium Dioxide in a Transmission Electron Microscope, Microscopy and Microanalysis, 20 (S3), 1888 (2014)
39. Daniel Q.Mcnerny, B.Viswanath, Davor Copic, Fabrice R. Laye, Christophor Prohoda, Anna C.Brieland-Shoultz, Erik S.Polsen, Vijayen S.Veerasamy, A.John Hart, Direct fabrication of graphene on SiO2 via thin film stress engineering, Scientific Reports, 4, 5049 (2014)
38. B.Viswanath and S.Ramanathan, Direct in-situ observation of structural transition driven actuation in VO2 utilizing electron transparent cantilevers, Nanoscale, 5, 7484(2013)
37. A. Podpirka, B.Viswanath and S. Ramanathan, Heteroepitaxy and crystallographic orientation transition in La1.875Sr0.125NiO4 thin films on single crystal SrTiO3, Journal of Materials Research, 28, 1420 (2013)
36. Sieu H.Da, B.Viswanath, and S.Ramanathan, Electrothermal actuation of metal insulator transition in SmNiO3 thin film devices at room temperature, Journal of Applied Physics,111, 124501 (2012)
35. B.Viswanath, C.Ko and S.Ramanathan, In situ studies on twinning and cracking proximal to insulator-metal transition in self supported VO2/Si3N4 membranes, Journal of Materials Research, 27, 1476 (2012)
34. B.Viswanath, G.Aydogdu, S.Ha and S.Ramanathan, In situ stress relaxation and diffraction studies across the metal insulator transition in epitaxial and polycrystalline SmNiO3 thin films, Scripta Materialia, 66(7),463-466 (2012)
33. B.Viswanath, C.Ko and S.Ramanathan, Thickness dependent orientation evolution in Ni films grown on YSZ (100) single crystals, Philosophical Magazine, 91, 4311 (2011)
32. B.Viswanath, C.Ko, Z.Yang and S.Ramanathan, Geometric confinement effects on the metal-insulator transition temperature and stress relaxation in VO2 thin films grown on Si, Journal of Applied Physics, 109, 063512 (2011)
31. B.Viswanath, C.Ko, S.Ramanathan; Thermoelastic Switching with controlled actuation in VO2 thin films, Scripta Materialia, 64(6), 490-493 (2011)
30. B.Viswanath, C.Ko, S.Ramanathan; Size effects on stress relaxation across the metal insulator transition in VO2 thin films, Journal of Materials Research, 26, 1384 ( 2011)
29. M.Abazari, Jai S. Sim, B.Viswanath and S.Ramanathan, Fabrication and physical properties of TiXOY membranes from single crystal TiO2, Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology A, 30, 021601,(2012)
28. G.Aydogdu, S.Ha, B.Viswanath and S.Ramanathan; Epitaxy, strain and compositional effects on metal-insulator transition characteristics of SmNiO3 thin films, Journal of Applied Physics, 109, 124110 (2011)
27. S.Ha, G.Aydogdu, B.Viswanath and S.Ramanathan; Electrically driven metal insulator transition with tunable threshold voltage in VO2-SmNiO3 heterostructure on silicon, Journal of Applied Physics, 110, 026110 (2011)
26. Z.Yang, C.Ko, B.Viswanath and S.Ramanathan, Dielectric and carrier transport properties of vanadium oxide thin films across the phase transition utilizing gated capacitor devices, Physical Review B, 82,205101 (2010)
25. A.Podpirka, B.Viswanath and Shriram Ramanathan, Active low temperature oxidation as a Route to minimize electrode-oxide interface reactions in nanoscale capacitors, Journal of Applied Physics, 108, 024106 (2010)
24. C.Nethravathi, B.Viswanath, M.Rajamathi: Hydrothermal synthesis of monoclinic VO2 nanotube-graphene hybrid for use as cathode material for lithium ion batteries, Carbon, 50(13),4839 (2012)
23. E.A. Anumol, Aditi Halder, C.Nethravathi, B.Viswanath and N.Ravishankar, Nanoporous Alloy Aggregates; Synthesis and Electrocatalytic Activity, Journal of Materials Chemistry, 21, 8721-8726 (2011)
22. Aditi Halder, S.Patra, B. Viswanath, N.Munichandraiah and N Ravishankar: Porous catalytically active palladium nanostructures by tuning nanoparticle interactions in an organic medium, Nanoscale, 3, 725-730 (2011)
21. B.Viswanath, V.Shastry, U.Ramamurty, N Ravishankar, Effect of Calcium Deficiency on the Mechanical Properties of Calcium Deficient Hydroxyapatite Crystals , Acta Materialia, 58 (14), 4841-4848 (2010)
20. S.Patra, B.Viswanath, K. Barai, N. Ravishankar, N. Munichandraiah; High surface step density on dendritic Pd leads to exceptional catalytic activity for formic acid oxidation, ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 2(11), 2965-2969 (2010)
19. B.Mukherjee, B.Viswanath and N Ravishankar : A General Strategy for Functional Nanoporous Structures by Partial Sintering of Nanorod Assemblies, Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, 43,455301 (2010)
18. E.A.Anumol, B.Viswanath, Yunfeng Shi, Ganpathi Ramanath, N Ravishankar, Surface Diffusion Driven Nanoshell Formation by Controlled Sintering of Mesoporous Nanoparticle Aggregates, Nanoscale, 2,1423-1425 (2010)
17. C.Nethravathi, B.Viswanath,C.Shivakumara, Mency Sebastian, M.Rajamathi, Exfoliation of α-Hydroxides of Nickel and Cobalt in Water, Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 345(1),109-115 (2010)
16. Aditi Halder, Paromita Kundu, B.Viswanath, N.Ravishankar, Symmetry and Shape Issues in Nanostructure Growth, Journal of Materials Chemistry, Feature Article, 20, 4763-4772 (2010)
15. Paromita Kundu, Aditi Halder, B.Viswanath, N Ravishankar : Nanoscale Hetrostructures with Molecular Scale Single Crystal Wires, Journal of the American Chemical Society,132(1),20-21(2010)
14. B.Viswanath, Paromita Kundu, Aditi Halder, N.Ravishankar: Mechanistic Aspects of Shape Selection during Nanostructure Growth by Wet-Chemical Methods, Journal of Physical Chemistry C, Cover page Feature Article, 113(39), 16866-16883 (2009)
13. B.Viswanath, S.Patra, N.Munichandraiah, N Ravishankar: Nanoporous Pt with High Surface Area by Reaction Limited Aggregation of Nanoparticles, Langmuir, 25(5), 3115-3121 (2009)
12. B.Viswanath, Paromita Kundu, N Ravishankar : Formation of Two-Dimensional Structures by Tuning the Driving Force of Reactions: An Interpretation of Kinetic Control, Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 330(1),211-219 (2009)
11. B.Viswanath, N.Ravishankar: Controlled Synthesis of Plate Shaped Hydroxyapatite and Implication for the Morphology of Apatite Phase in Bone, Biomaterials, 29, 4855-4863 (2008)
10. C.Nethravathi, B.Viswanath, C.Shivakumara, N.Mahadevaiah, M.Rajamathi: The Production of Smectite Clay/Graphene Composites Through Delamination and Co-Stacking, Carbon, 46(13), 1773-1781 (2008)
9. B.Viswanath, Paromita Kundu, B.Mukherjee, N.Ravishankar: Predicting the Growth of Two-Dimensional Nanostructures , Nanotechnology, 19, 195603 (2008)
8. B.Viswanath, R.Raghavan, N.P.Gurao, U.Ramamurty, N.Ravishankar: Mechanical Properties of Tricalcium Phosphate Single Crystals Grown by Molten Salt Synthesis, Acta Biomaterialia, 4, 1448-1454 (2008)
7. Sounak Roy, B.Viswanath, M.S.Hegde, Giridhar Madras: Low Temperature Selective Reduction of NO with NH3 Over Ti0.9M0.1O2-δ(M: Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Cu), J.Phy.Chem C, 112, 6002-6012 (2008)
6. B.Viswanath, N.Ravishankar: Porous Biphasic Scaffolds and Coatings for Biomedical Applications via Morphology Transition of Nanorods, Nanotechnology, 18, 47, 475604 (2007)
5. B.Viswanath, R.Raghavan, U.Ramamurty, N.Ravishankar: Mechanical Properties and Anisotropy in Hydroxyapatite Single Crystals, Scripta Materialia, 57, 361-364 (2007)
4. B.Viswanath, N.Ravishankar: Interfacial Reactions in Hydroxyapatite/Alumina Nanocomposites, Scripta Materialia, 55, 863-866 (2006)
3. Z. Yang, C. Ko, B.Viswanath and S. Ramanathan; Correlated oxide phase transition switch: A paradigm in electron devices IEEE Conference Digest, Device Research Conference, 187 (2011)
2. B.Viswanath, N.Ravishankar:Biphasic Composite of Tricalcium Phosphate Reinforced with Hydroxyapatite Whiskers,MRS.Symp.Proc.Vol.898E,0898-L05-20.1(2006)
1. B.Viswanath, N.Ravishankar: Synthesis, Sintering and Microstructural Characterization of Nanocrystalline Hydroxyapatite Composites, MRS.Symp.Proc.Vol.845, AA5.31.1 (2005)