Next Generation Devices for Sustainablility.
New age devices have revolutionized the way we interact with technology, and their sensing applications have played a pivotal role in this transformation. These devices are equipped with advanced sensors that enable them to perceive and understand the world around us in ways previously unimaginable.
One of the most prominent sensing applications of new age devices is in the field of health and wellness. Wearable devices, such as smartwatches and fitness trackers, now come with built-in sensors that can monitor heart rate, sleep patterns, activity levels, and even detect stress levels. This wealth of data empowers individuals to take proactive measures towards maintaining a healthy lifestyle and can also aid healthcare professionals in diagnosing and treating various medical conditions.
In addition to health, new age devices have also found extensive applications in home automation and security. Smart home devices utilize sensors to detect motion, light levels, temperature, and humidity, allowing users to automate their living spaces for optimal comfort and energy efficiency. These devices can also integrate with security systems, providing real-time monitoring and alerts for any unusual activity.
Furthermore, new age devices with sensing capabilities have transformed industries such as agriculture, transportation, and manufacturing. Sensors embedded in agricultural equipment can monitor soil moisture, temperature, and nutrient levels, enabling farmers to optimize crop yields. In transportation, sensors in autonomous vehicles enable them to detect and respond to their surroundings, enhancing safety and efficiency. In manufacturing, sensors play a crucial role in quality control and predictive maintenance, ensuring smooth operations and reducing downtime.
In conclusion, the sensing applications of new age devices have permeated various aspects of our lives, enhancing our well-being, comfort, and productivity. As technology continues to evolve, we can expect even more sophisticated sensing capabilities that will further revolutionize our interaction with the world around us.
Adv. Funct. Mater.2019, 29, 190440.
Chemistry for Sustainability: From Materials Design to Applications
Lightweight Flexible Materials for Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) Shielding
With the advent of smart electronic devices, we observe a rapid surge in growth and subsequent drive in miniaturization of electronic interfaces. Any electronic gadget that transmits, distributes, or uses electrical energy creates electromagnetic interference (EMI) which has harmful impacts on device performance and the surrounding environment. Furthermore, owing to the rapid development of wireless transmission technologies in the high-frequency range, the EMI problem has been of increasing significance and has been attracting global attention in terms of regulation of EM pollution. This increase in unrestricted EM pollution can also affect human well-being as well as the surrounding environment if proper shielding is not provided. A successful EMI shielding material must both lessen undesirable emissions and defend the component from stray signals.
So, in the quest to find a material which is ‘desirable’ in modern times, we look into materials that are lightweight, flexible, and durable and of course easy to make. We found a perfect solution to it by making polymer nanocomposites.
Polymer nanocomposites have evolved rapidly as one of the promising EM screeners in recent times. One of the prominent reasons is that this class of materials addresses a variety of shortcomings that earlier materials had. To put it in perspective, they are corrosion resistant, lightweight, flexible, robust, and easy to make. In my research, I am trying to synthesize new materials that are tailor-made for absorbing EM radiation and I finally composited them with polymers to make polymer nanocomposites that are not only EM screeners but also possess properties of heat dissipation and high heat sustainability and mechanical durability.
Relevant Publication:
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Mechanically robust, UV screener core double-shell nanostructures provide enhanced shielding for EM radiations over wide angle of incidence. Yudhajit Bhattacharjee, Sambit Bapari, Suryasarathi Bose*. Nanoscale 2020, 12, 15775- 15790.
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Core-multishell heterostructure with excellent heat dissipation for electromagnetic interference shielding. Yudhajit Bhattacharjee, Dipanwita Chatterjee, Suryasarathi Bose*. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 2018, 10 (36), 30762-30773.
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Recent Trends in multi-layered architecture towards screening electromagnetic radiation: Challenges and Perspectives. Yudhajit Bhattacharjee, Injamamul Arief, Suryasarathi Bose*. Journal of Materials Chemistry C 2017, 5, 7390 – 7403.
Nanoparticles Mediated Colorimetric Detection of Heavy Metal ion in Water
Among various heavy metal ions, lead, cadmium, and mercury ions are banned in electrical and electronic equipment by the European Union’s Restriction on Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive due to their hazardous nature. These three heavy metal ions are not biodegradable and hence can accumulate in the environment, thereby resulting in contamination in food and water. Therefore, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have strictly defined the concentration limits of these metal ions that are allowed in the drinking water. Escalating consciousness of the lethal effect of heavy metal ion has sparked interest in many researchers in building up tools for detecting Hg(II) in the environment.
In the last few decades, noble metal nanoparticles like gold and silver have attracted great attention because of their distinctive property of surface plasmon resonance (SPR). Unlike dyes, silver nanoparticles are quite photostable and do not undergo rapid photobleaching, allowing these nanoparticles to be utilized as optical probes for ultrasensitive heavy metal ion detection through the formation of amalgams.
In my work, I have tried to understand the mechanism of colorimetric detection and ligand to nanoparticle interactions which lead to amalgam formations.
Relevant Publication:
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Label-free cysteamine-capped silver nanoparticle-based colorimetric assay for Hg(II) detection in water with subnanomolar exactitude. Yudhajit Bhattacharjee, Amarnath Chakraborty*. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 2014, 2 (9), 2149-215
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Mercaptobenzoheterocyclic compounds functionalized silver nanoparticle, an ultrasensitive colorimetric probe for Hg(II) detection in water with picomolar precision: A correlation between sensitivity and binding affinity. Yudhajit Bhattacharjee, Dipanwita Chatterjee, Amarnath Chakraborty*. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 2017, 255, 210-216.