National Institute of Technology, Calicut, Kerala

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National Institute of Technology, Calicut, Kerala

• School of Nano Science and Technology

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Profile

• SNST was established as an independent School at
  NITC in 2009
• The School functions in collaboration with the
  other departments of the institute through
  academic courses, interdisciplinary student
  research projects and collaborative research
  with faculty members.
• The school has ongoing collaborative research
  with prominent universities and institutes at the
  international level.
• The School of Nano Science and Technology (SNST)
  at National Institute of Technology Calicut
  (NITC), India, fosters a scientific community
  dedicated to higher learning and research in
  Nanotechnology.

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Academic Programs

• Doctoral Degree Program
• Candidates with Masters degree in various
  streams of science and engineering can perform
  research leading to Ph.D. degree at the School.
  The Doctoral research scholars are Masters
  degree holders in different Engineering branches,
  Materials Science, Nanotechnology, Physics and
  Chemistry. Being an interdisciplinary School,
  there is large flexibility in the background
  disciplines of the candidates. All selected
• research scholars are entitled to fellowships
  from the Government of India.
• Master of Technology Program
• The Master of Technology (M.Tech.) program in
  Nanotechnology is designed to impart state-of the
  art knowledge, and has an objective of training
  the students to make them capable of addressing
  the challenges of the emerging technological
  field of Nanotechnology. The program consists of
  two semesters of course work and two semesters of
  project work. The study materials include
  subjects such as Physics of Materials,
  Thermodynamics of Nanomaterials and Systems,
  Microscale and Nanoscale Heat Transfer, Nanosized
  Structures, Experimental Techniques in
  Nanotechnology,Computational Nanotechnology and
  MEMS. Laboratory courses dealing with production,
  characterization and application of
  nanoparticles, nanofluids and nanocomposits as
  well as giving exposure to discrete computational
  analysis of nanoscale phenomena are also offered
  as part of the curriculum.

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Laboratories and Facilities

• Nanotechnology Research Laboratory
• Focuses on Nanofluids, Thermal engineering
  applications, Thermophysical property
  measurement, Carbon Nanotechnology.
• Nanoscience Research Laboratory
• Involved in research on Bio-sensors, Targeted
  drug delivery systems, Environmental problems.
• Fuels and Combustion Research Laboratory
• Dedicated to research on the application of
  nanotechnology in fuels, leading to efficient
  combustion and reduction of emission, Nano
  lubricants, Nanocoolants.
• Nano and Display Research Laboratory
• Carries out research in nanopatterning,
  Non-linear optics applications and Liquid crystal
  Displays.
• Computational Nanotechnology Laboratory
• Focuses on discrete computational methods for the
  simulation and analysis of nanoscale phenomena.
• The Microscopy Center
• Microscopy Center houses a high
  resolutionScanning Electron Microscope and an
  Atomic Force Microscope.

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Nanotechnology Research Laboratory Nanofluids
and Engineering Applications

• Research involves studies on convection loops
  with nanofluids, application of nanoparticles in
  lubricating oils and refrigerents, measurement of
  thermophysical properties of nanofluids,
  preparation of stabilized nanofluids and their
  characterization,heat transfer phenomena in
  nanofluids .
• Molecular dynamic simulation and multi-scale
  modeling of thermal phenomena
• Optical measurements
• Microchannels and micro heat pipes,

Measurement of thermal conductivity of nanofluids
Carbon Nanotube Synthesis

• The research work is primarily focused on
  optimizing the process of CVD synthesis, based on
  the results of the theoretical model.
• Chemical kinetics modeling to predict the
  deposition parameters,
• Molecular modeling to simulate the deposition
  process of CNT.

Chemical Vapor Deposition Of CNT
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Nanoscience Research Laboratory
Development of Biosensors using Engineered Nano
particulate Systems

• Research work is in progress to develop
  sensitive,
• reproducible, selective and low cost biosensor
  surfaces using different nanostructures like gold
  nanoparticles, gold nanorods, silver
  nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes.
• A novel electrochemical sensor surface with
  enhanced sensitivity for the detection of
  hydrogen peroxide based on the layer-by-layer
  assembly of mercapto propionic acid cyclic
  bisureas, gold nanoparticle and Horseradish
  peroxidase has been developed.

Gold nanoparticles
Targeted Drug Delivery

• Tumor targeting strategies, to target tumors and
  deliver therapeutics to specific locations in the
  body, are being developed and investigated,
  focusing on gold nanoparticle as vectors for drug
  delivery.
• 3 different sized gold nanoparticles suitable for
  drug delivery applications, ranging from 10-60
  nm, have been obtained .

Photocatalytic degradation of a textile dye using
titanium oxide nanoparticles under ultraviolet
radiation
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Fuels and Combustion Research Laboratory
Application of Catalytic Nanoparticles in
Hydrocarbon Fuels

• The aim of the research is to obtain results
  that will help in understanding the effect of
  nanoparticle additives on Diesel and Biodiesel in
  improving the energy conversion capability and
  reducing the level of harmful emissions from the
  engine.
• The use of certain oxide catalysts in the
  nanopowder form is found to enhance the
  combustion phenomenon, while considerably
  reducing emissions.
• The extensive investigation involves preparation
  of the catalytic nanoparticles by chemical and
  physical synthesis methods, their
  characterization, blending and stabilization in
  fuels, quantification of the modified fuel in
  engines, fundamental analysis of the combustion
  flames using optical measurements, study on
  impact on engine parts, and toxicological effects
  on the emissions.
• Major Equipment Dynamic Light Scattering system

Flame Pyrolysis of catalytic nanoparticles
Dynamic Light Scattering system
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Nano and Display Research Laboratory
Investigations on Micropatterning and Liquid
Crystals

• The key areas of work in the laboratory are
• Berkovich nano-indentation on polymer-
• CNT nanocomposites to study the stress
• strain behavior of thin films.
• Miropatterning of transparent electrodes
• using laser ablation for in-plane switching
• liquid crystal displays
• Development of thermotropic liquid
• crystals for non-linear optics.
• Investigations on pressure sensor based
• Piezoresistive behaviour of Polysilicon
• film on Si lt100gt for MEMS devices.

Polarized optical microscopy images of different
liquid crystals
Simulated results for stress analysis on
the diaphragm and fabricated array of
bulk micromachined diaphragms on silicon
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Computational Nanotechnology Laboratory
Simulation of Nanoscale Phenomena
Our main area of work is to understand the
phenomenon occuring at nanoscale by employing
atomistic simulation techniques like Molecular
Dynamics and Monte Carlo. This helps in the
design and optimization of functional systems at
the molecular scale.

• Direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) analysis of
  solid rocket motor (SRM) exhaust
• Thermal modeling of carbon nanotube based
  electronic devices
• Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulation of gas-surface
  interaction at nanoscale
• Molecular Dynamics simulation of transport
  properties, and transport through nanostructures
• MD simulation of gas-surface interactions

MD simulation of Nanojets
MD simulation of gas-surface interactions
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Scanning Probe Microscopy Centre

• The centre is equipped with Park XE-100 Atomic
  Force Microscopy (AFM).
• Specifications
• Decoupled XY Z Scanners
• Scan range of XY-scanner 5 µm and 100
  µm
• Working distance of Z-scanner 12 µm or
  25 µm
• Sample sizeUp to 100 mm 100mm, 20 mm
• thick, and up to 500 g
• Supported Modes
• ? True Non-Contact Mode
• ? Contact Mode
• ? Force - distance Spectroscopy/F-d volume
  imaging
• ? Phase imaging of True Non-Contact, FMM, MFM
  
• ? Conductive AFM
• ? Scanning Tunneling Microscopy
• ? Magnetic Force Microscopy
• ? Electric Force Microscopy
• ? Scanning Thermal Microscopy
• ? Nanolithography
• ? Nanoindentation

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Scanning Electron Microscopy centre

• The centre is equipped with Hitachi SU6600
  Variable
• Pressure Field Emission Scanning Electron
  Microscope
• THE MAIN FEATURES OF SU 6600-FESEM
• Electron gun Tungsten Schottky emission
  electron source
• Resolution 1.2 nm/30 kV, 3.0 nm/1 kV
• Probe current 1pA200nA
• Specimen chamber pressure 10-4Pa (high
• vacuum), 10300Pa (low vacuum)
• Specimen Size Max 150 mm dia.40 mm H
• Magnification 500,000 x
• IMAGING TECHNIQUES
• Secondary Electron Imaging (SE)
• Backscattered Electron Imaging (BSE)
• Environmental Secondary Electron Detector (ESED)
• Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (Horiba, EMAX,
• 137 ev) For analysis, mapping Point ID
• The ESED mode allows the operator to change
• Vacuum conditions in the sample chamber from high
  vacuum to low vacuum.

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Major Equipments/Facilities

• Dynamic Light Scattering System (DLS)
• UV-VIS Spectrophotometer
• Vacuum coating Apparatus
• Chemical Vapour Deposition Apparatus (CVD)
• Electrochemical Workstation
• Rotek Fume exhaust hood
• Trinocular Research Microscope
• KD2 Thermal Property Analyzer
• Rheometer
• Fluke Infrared Thermometers
• Deep freezer, Centrifuge,Oven
• Interferometric/Schliern set up

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Funded Research Projects

• Holographic Studies on Mini Channels for Optimal
  Thermal Design of Microelectronic Systems,
  Department of Science and Technology, Government
  of India 20 lakhs - Completed
• Experimental studies on convective heat transfer
  performance of water-based
• nanofluids in liquid loops, Board of Research in
  Nuclear Science, Government of India 20 lakhs -
  Completed
• Design, development and optimization of miniature
  and micro heat pipes for
• thermal management of avionic devices, Aerospace
  Research and Development Board, Government of
  India 10 lakhs - Ongoing
• Development and application of waterbased
  nanofluids as coolants for steel
• industry, Tata Steel, India 20 lakhs - Ongoing
• Investigations on the application of catalytic
  nanoparticles as diesel and biodiesel additives
  Funded by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation,
  Government of India 120 lakhs - Ongoing
• Multifunctional Plasmonic Nanoparticles and
  Nanocomposites for Targeted Drug Delivery
  Synthesis, Evaluation and Toxicological Studies,
  Department of Biotechnology, Government of India
  45 lakhs - Ongoing
• Enhancement of the sensitivity of peptide
  nanotube based biosensors using metal
  nanoclusters, Department of Science and
  Technology, Government of India 19.14
  lakhs - Ongoing
• DSMC Simulations of Solid Rocket Exhaust Plumes,
  Government of India, Aerospace Research and
  Development Board, Government of India. 20
  lakhs - Ongoing

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Recent Publications
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Patents filed

• 1. Title of the patent applied A system for
  determining Material surface erosion caused by
  impingement of Nanofluids on pipes carrying
  Nanofluids.
• Inventors
• Mr.Gibin George, NIT Calicut
• Mr.Shijo Thomas, Asst. Professor, SNST, NIT
  Calicut.
• Dr.C.B.Sobhan, Professor, SNST, NIT Calicut.
• Dr.Sajith.V, Asst. Professor, SNST, NIT Calicut.
• Mr.Hanas T, Asst. Professor, SNST, NIT Calicut.
• Mr.Krishna Sabareesh. R, TATA Steel Ltd, ,
  Jamshedpur.
• Jamshedpur.Mr.Sumitesh Das, TATA Steel Ltd,
  Jamshedpur.

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Patents filed

• 2. Title of the patent applied A process for
  determining Lubricant composition in Vapour
  Compression Refrigeration System to enhance the
  Coefficient of Performance.
• Inventors
• Mr.Gopinath, NIT Calicut
• Dr.Sajith.V, Asst. Professor, SNST, NIT Calicut.
• Mr.Shijo Thomas, Asst. Professor, SNST, NIT
  Calicut.
• Dr.C.B.Sobhan, Professor, SNST, NIT Calicut.
• Mr.Hanas T, Asst. Professor, SNST, NIT Calicut.
• Mr.Krishna Sabareesh. R, TATA Steel Ltd, ,
  Jamshedpur.
• Jamshedpur.Mr.Sumitesh Das, TATA Steel Ltd,
  Jamshedpur.

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Faculty Development Programmes

• 1. "Trends and Techniques in Nanotechnology",
• July 4-17, 2010Sponsored by MHRD-AICTECoordinat
  ors Dr.C.B.Sobhan, Hanas T., Shijo ThomasNo
  of Participants 402. "Advanced Nanomaterials
  Process, Characterisation and Applications",
• July 6-12, 2011Sponsored by MHRD-AICTECoordinat
  ors Dr.N Sandhyarani, Dr. Soney VargheseNo of
  Participants 70

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Faculty

• C. B. Sobhan, Ph. D., Professor
• Coordinator, Nanotechnology Research Laboratory
• Ph. D. Mechanical Engineering (Heat Transfer),
  IIT Madras, India
• Post Doctoral Research Purdue University, USA
• Visiting Fellowships/Visiting Faculty Positions
  NTU Singapore, University of Wisconsin, USA,
  Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, USA, University
  of Colorado, USA, Georgia Institute of
  Technology, USA
• Research Areas Microscale and Nanoscale Heat
  Transfer, Thermal Phenomena in Nanofluids,
• Optical Measurements, Molecular Dynamics
  modeling, Carbon Nanotubes
• N. Sandhyarani, Ph.D., Associate Professor
• Coordinator, Nanoscience Research Laboratory
• Ph. D. Chemistry (Nanomaterials), IIT Madras,
  India
• Post Doctoral Research University of Notre
  Dame, USA, Cornell University, USA
• Visiting Fellowship Pohang University of
  Science and Technology, South Korea
• Research Areas Surface Chemistry,
  Bio-nanotechnology, Nano-enabled Sensors,
  Targeted Drug
• Delivery Systems

Sarith.P.Sathian, Ph.D., Assistant
Professor Coordinator, Computational
Nanotechnology Laboratory Ph.D. Aerospace
Engineering, IIT Madras, India Visiting
Fellowships RWTH, Germany, Russian Academy of
Sciences Research Areas Micro flows and nano
flows, Rarefied gas flows, Multiscale modelilng
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Faculty
Soney Varghese, Ph.D., Assistant
Professor Coordinator, Nano and Display Research
Laboratory Ph.D. Chemistry (Nanofabrication)
University of Eindhoven,The Netherlands Research
Areas Characterization, Nanopatterns, Liquid
Crystal Display, Conducting Polymers V. Sajith,
Ph.D., Assistant Professor Coordinator, Fuels and
Combustion Laboratory Ph.D. Mechanical
Engineering (Optical Measurements), NIT Calicut,
India Visiting Assignments Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute, USA, University of
Colorado, Boulder, USA Research Areas Optical
Measurements, Microchannel flows, Nanofluids,
Nanotechnology in Combustion and Fuels, IC
Engines T. Hanas, Assistant Professor Ph.D.
Materials Science (ongoing), NIT Calicut,
India Research Area Polymer Nanocomposites Shijo
Thomas, Assistant Professor Ph.D. Mechanical
Engineering (ongoing), NIT Calicut,
India Research Areas Heat Transfer in
Nanofluids, Carbon Nanotube Synthesis
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Contact us_at_

• Dr.C.B. Sobhan
• Head, School of Nano Science and Technology
• E mail csobhan_at_nitc.ac.in