Research

My research interests are varied; spanning from fundamental studies in polymeric, composite systems for understanding to application for end usage.

Polymer membrane studies

At present, we are working on tailoring a domestic ion-exchange membrane for hexa-valent chromium removal. The idea is to reverse engineer the existing membrane by adding scavenging anionic agents that would facilitate the removal of these toxic ions. 

Shear thickening Nano-particles in ballistic protection

    Nano-particles dispersed in specific solvents have been reported to exhibit shear thickening ability. This property due to shear expansion of physical cross-links of these dispersed materials can be made use in making light-weight body armor..

Enhancement studies on composite fuel propellants

        Composite fuel propellants are hybrid materials with ease of use compared to liquid and solid propellants. The composite fuel propellants are in-trend materials as there have been lot of efforts to boost space tourism. As new materials need to be versatile and should show ease of portability and stability under extreme conditions. Composite materials such as HTBP and polymeric propellants show promise as alternatives, but they suffer from inefficient burning. The present focus is to identify suitable additives to enhance the burning rates.