Academic Profile

Dr. Srinivasan Sampath

                                                   

CAREER & EDUCATION

April-2014 - Present DST-INSPIRE Faculty and AcSIR-Assistant Professor, Polymer Division, CSIR-Central Leather Research Institute, Adyar, Chennai-600020, India,

February 2013 - March 2014  Post Doctoral Fellow Graduate School of EEWS and Department of Chemistry, Korea Advanced Institute of  Science and Technology (KAIST) Advisor: Prof.Ali Coskun

November 2010 - October 2012 Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Chemistry Northwestern University. Advisor: Prof. J Fraser Stoddart

 August 2005 - November 2010 PhD in Chemistry, National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST), CSIR, Trivandrum, India. Kerala University
Advisor: Prof. A. Ajayaghosh

July 2003 - July 2005 M.Sc Chemistry Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IITM), India

June 2000- May 2005 B.Sc Chemistry D.G. Vaishnav College, Madras University, India
 

Researcher ID: C-6704-2008
  
AWARD & HONORS

2014   DST-INSPIRE Faculty Award – April 2014 to March 2019

2013   Post doctoral Fellowship WCU - KAIST, Korea February, 2013- March-2014.

2010   Post doctoral Fellowship Northwestern University November, 2010 – October 2012.

2010   Young Scientist Award- 22nd Kerala Science Congress, India, January 28-31, 2010.

2009   Best Oral Presentation Award- 5th JNC Research Conference on Chemistry of Materials

2008   Best Poster Presentation Award- International Conference on Functional Materials, IIT Madras.

2008   Indo-French (IFCPAR) Exchange Fellow, Institute Charles Sadron, CNRS, France, .

2007   Best Presentation Award -ICYS-ICMR Summer School on Nanomaterials, NIMS. Tsukuba, Japan,

2007   Senior Research Fellowship from UGC/CISR

2005   Junior Research Fellowship from UGC/CISR

2005   Qualified National Eligibility Test (NET) for Lectureship.

2003   Gold Medalist- Best outgoing student - College topper in main and all allied subjects B.Sc

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

Reviewr for ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, RSC Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, RSC Advances, RSC Nanoscale 

Message: I was born and raised in a beautiful seashore city, Chennai and it is the fourth largest metropolitan city in India. I have done my B.Sc in chemistry at Madras university, Chennai. I completed my M.Sc degree in chemistry at Indian Institute of Technology Madras, India. After that I qualified a national level entrance examination for research fellowship. In 2005, I moved to Trivandrum for my PhD under the supervision of Dr. A. Ajayaghosh. During my stay in Trivandrum, I mainly involved in the design and study of advanced functional materials based on carbon nanotubes and conjugated organic molecules. My thesis was entitled as “Self-assembled Functional Hybrid Materials: Design of Stable Organogels, Superhydrophobic Coatings and Fluorescent Imaging Materials. In November 2010, I joined the Stoddart Research Group as a postdoctoral fellow. Then In November 2011, I joined as joint postdoctoral fellow in Coskun Group. Then I received DST-INSPIRE Faculty Award and joined CSIR-CLRI, India.

List of Publications 

Total Papers                             : 20

Sum of times cited                   : 1014

Aggregate Impact Factor        : 204.6

h-index                                      : 14

i10-index                                   : 17

  

Selected Publications:

1) S. Srinivasan, W. H. Shin, S. Back. G. Barin, O. Buyukcakir, R. Guliyev, Y. Jung, Ali Coskun, 

Ordered Supramolecular Gels Based on Graphene Oxide and Tetracationic Cyclophanes 

Adv. Mater., 26, 2725–2729, 2014 (IF: 17.49, Citation Index: 11).

2) S. Srinivasan, A. N. Basuray, K. J. Hartlieb, T. Aytun, S. I. Stupp, J. F. Stoddart 

Direct Exfoliation of Graphite to Graphene in Aqueous Media with Diazaperopyrenium Dications 

Adv. Mater. 25, 2740-2745, 2013 (IF: 17.49, Citation Index: 32). 

3) S. Srinivasan, W. H. Shin, J. W. Choi, Ali Coskun, 

A bifunctional approach for the preparation of graphene and ionic liquid-based hybrid gels 

J. Mater. Chemistry A, 1, 43-48, 2013 (IF: 7.443, Citation Index: 13)

4) A. C. Fahrenbach,* S. Srinivasan,* D. J. Late, J. C. Barnes, S. L. Kleinman, N. Valley, K.J. Hartlieb, Z. Liu, V. P. Dravid, G. C. Schatz, R. P. Van Duyne, J. F. Stoddart, 

A Semiconducting Organic Radical Cationic Host-Guest Complex

ACS Nano. 6, 9964-9971, 2012 (*Equal contribution) (IF: 12.88, Citation Index: 14). 

5) S. Srinivasan, P. A. Babu, S. Mahesh, A. Ajayaghosh, 

Reversible Self-Assembly of Entrapped Fluorescent Gelators in Polymerized Styrene Gel Matrix: Erasable Thermal Imaging via Recreation of Supramolecular Architectures 

J. Am. Chem. Soc. 131, 15122-15123, 2009 (IF: 12.11, Citation Index: 95).

6) S. Srinivasan, S. S. Babu, V. K. Praveen, A. Ajayaghosh, 

Carbon Nanotube Triggered Self-Assembly of Oligo(p-phenyleneviny-lene)s to Stable Hybrid Pi-Gels.

Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 47, 5746-5749, 2008 (IF: 11.26, Citation Index: 91). 

(Back-to-back articles, Highlighted article in Nature Publishing Group Asia Materials).

7) S. Srinivasan, V. K. Praveen, R. Philip, A. Ajayaghosh, 

Bioinspired Superhydrophobic Coatings of Carbon Nanotubes and Linear   pi-Systems Based on the “Bottom-up” Self-Assembly Approach.

Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 47, 5750-5754, 2008 (IF: 11.26, Citation Index: 143). 

(Rated as VIP and featured on the front cover, one of the most-accessed articles in July, 2008, Highlighted in Angewandte Chemie press release and in Materials Today).

Book Chapter 

Supramolecular Soft Matter: Applications in Materials and Organic Electronics: Interaction of carbon nanotubes and small molecules. Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2011, 381-406. Print ISBN: 9780470559741 Online ISBN: 9781118095331.

S. Srinivasan, A. Ajayaghosh

List of Patents Granted/Filed

1) Nanocomposite Material useful for the Preparation of Superhydrophobic Coatings and a Process for the Preparation Thereof

A. Ajayaghosh, S. Srinivasan, V. K. Praveen, USA- US8323732 B2 (US 2010/0330277  

A1), WO/2009/037717 (PCT/IN08/00538).

2) Crystalline bipyridinium radical complexes and uses thereof. 

A. Fahrenbach, J. Barnes, H. Li, F. Stoddart, A. Basuray, S. Srinivasan,

US9120799 B2 (US 61/537,852, 2011 (22-Sept, 2012). 

3) Carbazole end capped bipyridine compounds and process for preparation thereof

A. Ajayaghogh, K. P. Divya, S. Srinivasan, US 20140023883 A1 (WO/2012/110945) (PCT/IB2012/050656)

RESEARCH ACTIVITIES

PhD Work

1) Carbon Nanotube Triggered Self-Assembly of Oligo (p-phenylenevinylene)s to Stable Hybrid pi-Gels: Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) represent a novel class of quasi one-dimensional materials. Addition of small amounts of CNTs to a solution of oligo(p-phenylenevinylene) (OPV1) in toluene triggers the self-assembly which leads to the formation of a composite gel. This strategy allows the dispersion and alignment of CNTs within an organic self-assembly (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2008, 47, 5746-5749; CI: 91).

 2) Bioinspired Superhydrophobic Coatings of Carbon Nanotubes and Linear pi Systems based on the “Bottom-up” Self-Assembly Approach: The self-cleaning superhydrophobicity of plant leaves, particularly of the lotus leaf is considered as a symbol of purity. We mimic lotus leaf by creating superhydrophobic coatings through supramolecular interaction between OPVs and CNTs. (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2008, 47, 5750-5754, WO/2009/037717; CI: 143).

3) Reversible Self-Assembly of Entrapped Fluorescent Gelators in Polymerized Styrene Gel Matrix: Erasable Thermal Imaging via Recreation of Supramolecular Architectures:The reversible shift of emission in fluorescent molecular gelators has been explored for the preparation of a composite polymer film useful for erasable thermal imaging and secret documentation and solvent vapour sensor. (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2009, 131, 15122-15123; CI: 95).

PDF Work

4) A Bifunctional Approach for the Preparation of Ionic liquid/Graphene Gels: We developed the concept of bifunctional approach by using functional molecules which (1) can enable the solubilization of GO sheets in ionic liquids (ILs) and (2) can facilitate the highly efficient thermal reduction of GO to RGO on account of the high thermal stability of ILs. We have demonstrated this concept by incorporating an imidazolium cation onto pyrene which can interact with RGO via cation–pi and pi–pi interactions to form highly stable, porous hybrid gel materials. (J. Mater. Chemistry A, 1, 43-48, 2013 (IF: 7.443, Citation Index: 13).

5) A Semiconducting Organic Radical Cationic Host Guest Complex: Organic host-guest inclusion complexes driven by radical-radical interactions are relatively rare in comparison to the commonality of their donor-acceptor counterparts. Likewise, host-guest complexes which are conductive in the solid-state have yet to be widely explored as materials for electronic applications. We demonstrated the construction of an OFET using lithographic techniques, which apply source and drain leads to single crystals composed of a host-guest complex involving the diradical dicationic CBPQT2(•+) ring complexed with the radical cationic MV•+ guest, and showed their p-type semiconductivity. (ACS Nano., 6, 9964-9971, 2012) (IF: 12.88, Citation Index: 14).

6) Direct Exfoliation of Graphite to Graphene: In recent times, the materials properties of graphene have generated ever-increasing interest across multiple scientific disciplines including physics, material science and chemistry. Generally, the techniques used to prepare graphene are based on either physical processes, chemical methodologies or a blend of the two. Physical methods are costly and chemical oxidation of graphite to graphene oxide (GO), followed by reduction, results in reduced graphene oxide (RGO) in large quantities, this method generates defect-laden RGO to the extent that the resultant graphene is generally of lower quality than that produced by physical methods. We addressed these issues by preparing graphene by direct exfoliation of graphite through pi-pi interactions between the N,N′-dimethyl-2,9-diazaperopyrenium dication and graphene in aqueous media. (Adv. Mater. 2013, 25, 2740-2745) (IF: 17.49, Citation Index: 32).

7) Ordered Supramolecular Gels Based on Graphene Oxide and Tetracationic Cyclophanes: We develop a new strategy to form ordered hierarchical supramolecular gels incorporating graphene oxide (GO) sheets and cationic rigid macrocyles under mild conditions via self-assembly. These ordered gels are stabilized by series of non-covalent ― donor-acceptor, π-π stacking, cation-π ― interactions. Our theoretical studies indicate that cationic macrocyles are positioned in between GO layers with a substantial binding energy. (Adv. Mater. 2014, 26, 2725–2729) (IF: 17.49, Citation Index: 11).

PRESENT WORK/AREA OF INTEREST

We are working in the field of functional hybrid materials for opto-electronic applications. we design, synthesis and study  small organic molecules. These molecules have been used to prepare nanocomposites through  self-assemble approach. They may self-organize with carbon based nanomaterials such as fullerene, carbon nanotubes, graphene and carbon quantum dots via non-covalent interaction, which may lead to the potential application of these materials in the optoelectronics and energy storage devices. 

We study the photo-physical and morphology properties of carbon quantum dots. The quantum dots are prepared by “top-down” approach starting from graphite. The functionalized quantum dots show interesting green emission as well as white emission. These materials are used for the preparation of nanocomposite as well as for biological studies

Controlled drug delivery is an important task in the field of medicine. We use microcapsules based on polymer nanocomposites for the controlled, sustained and targeted drug delivery.

FUNDING:

Title of the project: Suparamolecular functionalization of π-Conjugated Molecules with Semiconducting Nanorods for Optoelectronic Applications: 

Duration: 5 Years (1-4-2014 to 31-3-2019); 

Sponsor: DST-INSPIRE Faculty Award; 

Value: Rs: 85,00,000/-

 

EXPERTISE

·        Expertise in the design and synthesis of molecules with self-assembling properties

·        Design, synthesis and characterization of functional hybrid nanomaterials based on      carbon nanotube and self-assembled organic molecules.

·        Design, synthesis and characterization of polymer and its composites

·        Design and preparation of superhydrophobic and superoleophilic surfaces

·        Design and preparation of fluorescent secret documentation

·        Design and synthesis of functional Ionic liquids

·        Design and synthesis of hybrid  gels based on graphene and ionic liquids

·        Controlled growth of nano and micro size crystals on solid surface

Hand on experience in the following instrumental techniques:

• Single photon counter (lifetime, TRES studies),         • Circular Dichroism (CD) spectrometer;

• UV-Vis-NIR spectrophotometer;                                   • Fluorescence spectrophotometer;

• Nano-photon Raman spectroscopy;                             • Confocal Raman spectroscopy,

• TEM (Jeol 2100F and H1800);                                     • STEM (HD 2300);

• FEI Quanta E-Scanning Electrom Microscopy;           • Environmental SEM (ESEM);

• Thermo X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS);     • Atomic force microscopy (AFM);

• Optical polarized microscopy (OPM);                          • IR-Microscopy;

• Fluorescence microscopy;                                            • Cyclic voltammetry; NMR; FTIR;

•  MALDI-TOF-MS; LC-MS;                                             • HPLC; GPC; Optical-Raman