Energy Materials research

Dr. Satyanarayan Patel is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering IIT Indore. He obtained his Ph.D. from the School of Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Mandi, Himachal Pradesh 175005, India, in 2016. His research focuses on bulk lead-free ceramics (piezoelectric and ferroelectric) for energy storage, conversion and caloric effects for solid-state refrigeration. I first demonstrated experimentally the elastocaloric and barocaloric effects in bulk ferroelectric ceramics using indirect measurements for solid-state refrigeration. I also explored an unforeseen component of the electric field-driven caloric effect termed the inverse piezocaloric effect. Additionally, I performed work on the effect of compressive pre-stresses (mechanical confinement) for tuning ferroelectric/pyroelectric/piezoelectric properties for energy storage/conversion and other device applications. 

Dr. Patel worked as a prestigious Alexander Von Humboldt Post-doctoral Fellow (Nov.2016-2019) in the Nonmetallic-Inorganic Materials Research Group, Institute of Materials Science, Technische Universität (TU) Darmstadt, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany. In TU Darmstadt, I focused on zinc oxide nanowires for piezotronics and energy harvesting applications. The main scientific goal of this project is to develop zinc oxide nanorods/nanowires for tuning the current-voltage (I-V) characteristics by mechanical confinement and explore potential applications as nanogenerators for energy conversion, which can open up new avenues of research in the field of developing functional materials with novel properties. His current research focuses on pyrocatalysis, piezocatalysis, and tribocatalysis for the treatment of water contaminated with organic pollutants, such as synthetic dyes.