Faculty Publications
Permanent URI for this communityhttps://idr.nitk.ac.in/handle/123456789/18736
Publications by NITK Faculty
Browse
13 results
Search Results
Item Possible Room-Temperature Ferromagnetism in Self-Assembled Ensembles of Paramagnetic and Diamagnetic Molecular Semiconductors(American Chemical Society service@acs.org, 2016) Dhara, B.; Tarafder, K.; Jha, P.K.; Panja, S.N.; Nair, S.; Oppeneer, P.M.; Ballav, N.Owing to long spin-relaxation time and chemically customizable physical properties, molecule-based semiconductor materials like metal-phthalocyanines offer promising alternatives to conventional dilute magnetic semiconductors/oxides (DMSs/DMOs) to achieve room-temperature (RT) ferromagnetism. However, air-stable molecule-based materials exhibiting both semiconductivity and magnetic-order at RT have so far remained elusive. We present here the concept of supramolecular arrangement to accomplish possibly RT ferromagnetism. Specifically, we observe a clear hysteresis-loop (Hc ? 120 Oe) at 300 K in the magnetization versus field (M-H) plot of the self-assembled ensembles of diamagnetic Zn-phthalocyanine having peripheral F atoms (ZnFPc; S = 0) and paramagnetic Fe-phthalocyanine having peripehral H atoms (FePc; S = 1). Tauc plot of the self-assembled FePc···ZnFPc ensembles showed an optical band gap of ?1.05 eV and temperature-dependent current-voltage (I-V) studies suggest semiconducting characteristics in the material. Using DFT+U quantum-chemical calculations, we reveal the origin of such unusual ferromagnetic exchange-interaction in the supramolecular FePc···ZnFPc system. © 2016 American Chemical Society.Item Charge-transfer interface of insulating metal-organic frameworks with metallic conduction(Nature Research, 2022) Sindhu, P.; Ananthram, K.S.; Jain, A.; Tarafder, K.; Ballav, N.Downsizing materials into hetero-structured thin film configurations is an important avenue to capture various interfacial phenomena. Metallic conduction at the interfaces of insulating transition metal oxides and organic molecules are notable examples, though, it remained elusive in the domain of coordination polymers including metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). MOFs are comprised of metal centers connected to organic linkers with an extended coordination geometry and potential void space. Poor orbitals overlap often makes these crystalline solids electrical insulators. Herein, we have fabricated hetero-structured thin film of a Mott and a band insulating MOFs via layer-by-layer method. Electrical transport measurements across the thin film evidenced an interfacial metallic conduction. The origin of such an unusual observation was understood by the first-principles density functional theory calculations; specifically, Bader charge analysis revealed significant accumulation and percolation of charge across the interface. We anticipate similar interfacial effects in other rationally designed hetero-structured thin films of MOFs. © 2022, The Author(s).Item Distal Synergistic Effect in Bimetal-Organic Framework for Superior Catalytic Water Oxidation(American Chemical Society, 2023) Bhoi, U.; Ray, S.; Bhand, S.; Ninawe, P.; Roy, D.; Rana, S.; Tarafder, K.; Ballav, N.Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are emerging as promising electro-catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The bimetallic design strategy was further adopted in MOFs to elevate the OER performance by a synergistic effect. The proximal metal-oxygen-metal bonding configuration with typical 3dπ-2pπ-3dπ interaction was apparently essential for an effective electronic coupling between the metal centers. Here, we report an example of distal synergy in a bimetal-organic framework exhibiting a better OER activity than the monometallic counterparts, as well as the conventional proximal synergy. To achieve a current density of 10 mA·cm-2, our electrodeposited bimetallic MOF, Co-Ni(TCNQ)2(H2O)2 (TCNQ = 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane), on a glassy-carbon electrode required an overpotential value of 220 mV. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations revealed distinctive electronic coupling between the Co(II)-3d7 and Ni(II)-3d8 centers, despite being 9 Å apart, leading to an overall charge delocalization in the structure via TCNQ. © 2023 American Chemical Society.Item Ag Nanoparticles-Induced Metallic Conductivity in Thin Films of 2D Metal-Organic Framework Cu3(HHTP)2(American Chemical Society, 2023) Saha, S.; Ananthram, K.S.; Hassan, N.; Ugale, A.; Tarafder, K.; Ballav, N.Two-dimensional (2D) metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are usually associated with higher electrical conductivity and charge carrier mobility when compared with 3D MOFs. However, attaining metallic conduction in such systems through synthetic or postsynthetic modifications is extremely challenging. Herein, we present the fabrication of thin films of a 2D MOF, Cu3(HHTP)2 (HHTP = 2,3,6,7,10,11-hexahydroxytriphenylene), decorated with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) exhibiting significant conductivity enhancement at room temperature. Variable-temperature electrical transport measurements across the low-temperature (200 K) to high-temperature (373 K) regime evidenced metallic conduction. Interestingly, thin films of a 3D MOF, CuTCNQ (TCNQ = 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane), upon decoration with AgNPs, disclosed a converse trend. The origin of such distinctive observations on AgNPs@Cu3(HHTP)2 and AgNPs@CuTCNQ systems was comprehended by using first-principles density functional theory (DFT) calculations and attributed to an interfacial electronic effect. Our work sheds new light on rationally designing synthetic modifications in thin films of MOFs to tune the electrical transport property. © 2023 American Chemical Society.Item Insulator-to-metal-like transition in thin films of a biological metal-organic framework(Nature Research, 2023) Sindhu, P.; Ananthram, K.S.; Jain, A.; Tarafder, K.; Ballav, N.Temperature-induced insulator-to-metal transitions (IMTs) where the electrical resistivity can be altered by over tens of orders of magnitude are most often accompanied by structural phase transition in the system. Here, we demonstrate an insulator-to-metal-like transition (IMLT) at 333 K in thin films of a biological metal-organic framework (bio-MOF) which was generated upon an extended coordination of the cystine (dimer of amino acid cysteine) ligand with cupric ion (spin-1/2 system) – without appreciable change in the structure. Bio-MOFs are crystalline porous solids and a subclass of conventional MOFs where physiological functionalities of bio-molecular ligands along with the structural diversity can primarily be utilized for various biomedical applications. MOFs are usually electrical insulators (so as our expectation with bio-MOFs) and can be bestowed with reasonable electrical conductivity by the design. This discovery of electronically driven IMLT opens new opportunities for bio-MOFs, to emerge as strongly correlated reticular materials with thin film device functionalities. © 2023, The Author(s).Item Excitonic cuprophilic interactions in one-dimensional hybrid organic-inorganic crystals(Royal Society of Chemistry, 2024) Hassan, N.; Nagaraja, S.; Saha, S.; Tarafder, K.; Ballav, N.The everlasting pursuit of hybrid organic-inorganic lead-free semiconductors has directed the focus towards eco-friendly copper-based systems, perhaps because of the diversity in chemistry, controlling the structure-property relationship. In this work, we report single crystals of a Cu(i) halide-based perovskite-like organic-inorganic hybrid, (TMA)Cu2Br3, (TMA = tetramethylammonium), consisting of unusual one-dimensional inorganic anionic chains of -(Cu2Br3)-, electrostatically stabilized by organic cations, and the Cu(i)-Cu(i) distance of 2.775 Å indicates the possibility of cuprophilic interactions. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements further confirmed the presence of exclusive Cu(i) in (TMA)Cu2Br3 and electronic structure calculations based on density functional theory suggested a direct bandgap value of 2.50 eV. The crystal device demonstrated an impressive bulk photovoltaic effect due to the emergence of excitonic Cu(i)-Cu(i) interactions, as was clearly visualized in the charge-density plot as well as in the Raman spectroscopic analysis. The single crystals of a silver analogue, (TMA)Ag2Br3, have also been synthesized revealing a Ag(i)-Ag(i) distance of 3.048 Å (signature of an argentophilic interaction). Unlike (TMA)Cu2Br3, where more density of states from Cu compared to Br near the Fermi level was observed, (TMA)Ag2Br3 exhibited the opposite trend, possibly due to variation in the ionic potential influencing the overall bonding scenario. © 2024 The Royal Society of Chemistry.Item Ultralow thermal conductivity and thermally-deactivated electrical transport in a 1D silver array with alternating δ-bonds(Royal Society of Chemistry, 2024) Hassan, N.; Nagaraja, S.; Saha, S.; Tarafder, K.; Ballav, N.We report the synthesis of a (TMA)AgBr2 (TMA = tetramethylammonium) crystal, which comprises inorganic anionic chains of -(AgBr2)∝- stabilized by columnar stacks of organic TMA cations with a periodic arrangement of shorter and longer Ag(i)⋯Ag(i) bonds, even though all the Ag(i) ions are chemically equivalent. The presence of two chemically non-equivalent bridging Br ions is attributed to the primary cause of such an unusual arrangement, as clearly visualized in the charge density plot of (TMA)AgBr2 extracted from the theoretical calculations based on density functional theory. Remarkably, we identified from the orbital-projected density of states the existence of alternate δ-like bonding involving dxy orbitals of 4d10 Ag(i), which was attributed to the cause for ultralow thermal conductivity and thermally-deactivated electrical transport in (TMA)AgBr2. Barring the energetics, our observations on the existence of a δ-bond will shed new light in understanding the nature of metal-metal chemical bonding and its unprecedented implications. © 2024 The Royal Society of Chemistry.Item An Intricate Balance of Ionicity and Covalency: Metal-Like Conduction in All-Inorganic Halide Double Perovskite Cs2AgSbCl6(American Chemical Society, 2025) Kalyani, M.; Ananthram, K.S.; Saha, S.; Ninawe, P.; Tarafder, K.; Ballav, N.Halide perovskites have recently evolved as attractive materials with enormous technological significance due to synthetic control over the structure-property relationship. Halide perovskites are often realized to be either electrical insulators or semiconductors. We present an unusual metal-like conduction (thermally deactivated) in a Pb-free all-inorganic halide double perovskite, Cs2AgSbCl6. The experimental results were understood using density functional theory studies, combined with molecular dynamics simulations and electron localization function calculations, revealing retention of the predominant ionicity of the Ag-Cl bond and an increase in the covalency of the Sb-Cl bond at an elevated temperature, which resulted in a significant change of the electronic band structure, including the density of states, thereby exhibiting an intricate balance of ionicity and covalency. A significant modulation of the electrical conductivity (more than 3 orders of magnitude) without any noticeable structural change will stimulate the investigation of hitherto unknown electronic phase transitions in halide double perovskites. Additionally, light-induced unidirectional rectification of current in Cs2AgSbCl6 was ascribed to a dynamic internal polarization effect. © 2025 American Chemical Society.Item High Thermoelectric Figure of Merit (zT) in ?-Ag2Se via Aliovalent Doping(John Wiley and Sons Inc, 2025) Acharya, A.; Nagaraja, S.; Hassan, N.; Tarafder, K.; Ballav, N.High-performance thermoelectric materials are essential for efficient low-temperature (300–400 K) heat energy harvesting, with n-type Ag2Se being a promising candidate. To further enhance the thermoelectric figure of merit (zT) of Ag2Se, aliovalent doping has emerged as a key strategy. However, achieving wet-chemical aliovalent doping of Ag2Se at ambient temperature has proven challenging. In this work, a high zTmax of 1.57 at 398 K is reported for an optimally Cd(II)-doped Ag2Se sample, specifically in the structurally phase-pure Ag1.98Cd0.02Se, which is successfully synthesized via an aqueous-based method at room-temperature (300 K). The Ag1.98Cd0.02Se sample also exhibits an impressive average zTavg of 1.12 over the temperature range of 315–400 K. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations for both the pristine and doped samples reveal significant changes in the electronic band structures, including notable modulations in the density of states near the Fermi energy, particularly for the Ag-3d states. The remarkable thermoelectric performance of Ag1.98Cd0.02Se is attributed to an optimization of charge carrier induced by the Cd(II)-doping. © 2025 Wiley-VCH GmbH.Item Coexistence of Spin-Polarized Dirac and Weyl Nodes in 2D Electride Ferromagnet Yttrium Iodide(American Chemical Society, 2025) N, S.; S, A.K.; Ballav, N.; Tarafder, K.The unique electronic structure of yttrium iodide (YI) has been predicted for the first time, revealing nontrivial topological properties that combine spin-polarized Dirac and Weyl nodes within the same phase. The study identified nodal points present in both spin channels. The existence of Weyl nodes is further confirmed by the source and sink features in the Berry curvature plot and the presence of Fermi arcs in the surface band structure. The electron and hole packets are found to be connected at the Weyl point, classifying YI as a type-II magnetic Weyl semimetal. Under spin–orbit coupling (SOC), eight pairs of Weyl points exhibit robust behavior, while a small band gap forms at the spin-polarized Dirac cone. The system also demonstrates a high Fermi velocity, estimated at about 3.4 × 105 m/s, for Dirac Fermions and a giant anisotropic intrinsic anomalous Hall conductivity of up to 933 S/cm. © 2025 American Chemical Society