Dr. Abir Ghosh

Assistant Professor
Department/School/Unit Name
Department of Chemical Engineering & Technology
Phone No(s): +91 542 716 5183
Email: abir.che@iitbhu.ac.in
Area of Interest: Thin films, Microfluidics, Complex fluids, Electrokinetics, Li-ion batteries, Electrolytes, Next-generation Batteries

 

Abir is a part of the interdisciplinary and multi-departmental Interfacial Science and Engineering (ISE) group and the Principal Investigator (PI) of the Fluids & Interfaces for Next-Gen Devices (FIND) Lab. He has been based in the Department of Chemical Engineering & Technology, IIT (BHU) Varanasi since December 2020. 

He is interested in the theories and experiments interconnected to a broad spectrum of multi-scale problems in fluid mechanics, transport processes, interfacial science, hydrodynamics, and electrochemical storage devices (such as next-gen batteries). Frequently use continuum-scale modelling (Python & MATLAB), linear stability analysis (LSA) (Mathematica & MATLAB), nonlinear numerical simulations (FORTRAN, COMSOL, etc.), control experiments, advanced imaging techniques (Optical Microscopes, AFM, SEM, TEM, etc.), and other sophisticated characterization (Electrochemical Workstation, EIS, XRD, GC, etc.) to analyze and investigate the problem of interest.

Abir obtained his PhD at IIT Kanpur in 2018 and was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Imperial College London before joining IIT(BHU) Varanasi. 

Selected Publications Google Scholar

 

Research Interests


  • Complex fluids: ​Liquid Crystals, Viscoelastic Materials, Smart Materials, Biological Fluids
  • Micro/Nano Mechanics of Self-organised Surface Patterns on Thin Films    
  • Debonding of Soft Interfaces
  • Mesoscale Dynamics of Metastable Fluidic-shapes
  • Field-driven Micro-flows: Electro-hydrodynamics (EHD), Magneto-hydrodynamics (MHD), Electro-Magneto-Hydrodynamics (EMHD), Electro-kinetics, Electrophoresis
  • 3D of Li-ion Batteries: Design (Modelling & Simulations), Development (Manufacturing & Characterisation), and Degradation (Combination of All)
  • Gen-Next Batteries: Solid State Batteries (SSB), Na-ion Batteries (SIB), and Air Batteries.

 

Facilities


  • Single-channel Electrochemical Workstation with EIS (Make: Metrohm India Pvt. Ltd.)
  • Programmable Spin Coating System (spinNXG-P1, Make: Apex Instruments Co. Pvt. Ltd.)
  • Laminar Air Flow Cabinet (Q3, OLSC-113-4, Make: Ocean Life Sciences Corporation)
  • CPU-based Workstation (Intel Xeon - 8 Cores,  3.9 GHz, 5 GB Nvidia P4000, 128 GB DDR4 RAM)
  • CPU-based Workstation (Intel Xeon - 8 Cores,  2.1 GHz, 128 GB DDR4 RAM)
  • Param Shivay Supercomputer @IIT (BHU) Varanasi: 837 TeraFLop (192 CPU nodes, 20 high-memory CPUs, 11 GPUs)

 

Research Funding


  • Oorja Energy, Weedy Software Pvt Ltd., 2022 (1.9 Lakhs)
    • Project Title: Computational Modelling and Implementation of O2 Evolution and Phase Change of Positive Electrodes in Li-ion Batteries 
  • Start-up Research Grant (SRG), Science & Engineering Research Board (SERB), Government of India, 2022 (Amount: 29.30 Lakhs )
    • Project Title: Design and Development of Kinetically Stable Electrolytes for Next-gen Li-ion Batteries (ElectroLiion)
  • Institute Seed Grant, IIT (BHU) Varanasi, 2021 (Amount: 7.5 Lakhs)
    • Project Title: High-aspect-ratio hierarchical micro- and nano-pattern fabrication exploiting contact instabilities of thin viscoelastic bilayers 

 

Open Positions


  • Currently, we don't have any funded positions vacant. However, we always welcome interested individuals to get associated with our LAB.

Motivated students are always WELCOME to start the captivating roller coaster ride of Interfacial Science and Engineering!!

 

Fluids & Interfaces for Next-Gen Devices(FIND)Lab
Fabricating devices for a sustainable tomorrow 

We use continuum-scale theories, modelling, simulations, and control experiments to unveil the interfacial phenomena. We engineer these proficiencies to design, develop, and fabricate/manufacture next-generation devices. Presently, our lab focuses on two-fold fabrication.  

  • Design and manufacture of next-generation energy storage devices, with a particular focus on batteries: Solid-state Lithium-ion batteries (SSLIB), Na-ion batteries (SIB), and air batteries (AB).
  • Design and fabrication of low-cost-compact-biomedical devices: Point-of-Care Testing (PoCT) and Lab-on-a-Chip (LoC). We focus on using novel materials, such as multi-stimuli-sensitive nematic liquid crystals, hydrogels with a highly porous network, viscoelastic soft polymers, and ionic liquids, exploiting their properties to achieve high-precision and early detection of diseases.              

 

Team Members


Abir Ghosh, PhD
Principal Investigator
Assistant Professor
Department of Chemical Engineering & Technology, IIT (BHU) Varanasi

​Experience:

  • Visiting Scholar, Stanford University, Nov 2023 
  • Postdoctoral Research Associate, Imperial College London, Feb 2019 – Dec 2020
  • Senior Research Fellow, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, May 2018 – Jan 2019  

Education:

  • Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, 2018
  • Master of Technology (M.Tech.), Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, 2012
  • Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech.), Heritage Institute of Technology, Kolkata, 2010

 

Senior Research Scholars


Ayush Sharma, M.Tech.
PhD Student

Education:

  • Master of Technology (M.Tech.), Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi, 2022
  • Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech.), Lakshmi Narain College of Technology, Rajiv Gandhi Proudyogiki Vishwavidyalaya, Bhopal, 2019

Areas of Interests: Thin Films, Viscoelastic Polymers, Nematic Liquid Crystals, Hydrogels, Porous Media, Contact and Electrohydrodynamic Instabilities. 
Ayush is working on 'electric-field-induced instabilities of the thin confined viscoelastic-porous bilayers' and 'instability, dynamics, and morphologies of dewetted shear thinning and thickening thin films'.

Prateek Chowdhury, M.Tech.
PhD Student

Education:

  • Master of Technology (M.Tech.), Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi, 2022
  • Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech.), Heritage Institute of Technology, Kolkata, 2020

Areas of Interests: Nano-interfacial Phenomena, Amphiphiles, Liquid Crystals, Molecular and Quantum Mechanical Simulations. 
Prateek is currently working on multiple projects simultaneously that include 'understanding the effect of nano-confinement and interfacial kinetics on chemical reactions', 'the wetting transition of amphiphiles and liquid crystals', and 'the design of liquid crystal-based sensors from the molecular perspective'.  

 

M.Tech. Students


Brijbhan Paswan, B.Tech.
Masters Student

Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech.)Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Allahabad, 2017

Areas of Interests: Thin Films, Linear Stability Analysis (LSA), Viscoelatic Solids. 
Brijbhan is working on 'electric-field-induced instabilities of the thin confined viscoelastic bilayers'.

Kartik Aasnani, B.Tech.
Masters Student

Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech.)Rajasthan Technical University, Kota, 2022

Areas of Interests: Li-ion and Na-ion Batteries, Continuum-Scale Battery Modelling
Kartik is working on 'continuum-scale modelling of next-generation batteries'.

Vedant Chourey, B.Tech.
Masters Student

Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech.)Ujjain Engineering College, Ujjain, 2022

Areas of Interests: Adhesion-debonding of Soft Interfaces, Contact Instabilities, Nematic Liquid Crystals
Vedant is currently working on 'dynamics and morphologies of viscoelastic glues'.

 

Research Fellows 


Chandrita Sadhu, M.Sc.
Junior Research Fellow  

Education:

  • Bachelor of Science (B.Sc), Chemistry, University of Calcutta, 2020
  • Master of Science (M.Sc), Chemistry (Organic Chemistry Specialisation), Rani Rashmoni Green University, 2022

Areas of Interests: Li-ion Battery Degradation, Na-ion Batteries, Solid-state Batteries, Thin Film Batteries. 
Chandrita is presently working on the SERB-funded project 'Design and Development of Kinetically Stable Electrolytes for Next-gen Li-ion Batteries (ElectroLiion)'. Her major focus is designing and performing accelerated degradation experiments.

 

Undergraduate Students


Amit Kumar
B.Tech. Student

Areas of Interests: Li-ion batteries, Single Particle Model, Degradation of Positive Electrodes (NMC), Modelling and Simulations. 
Amit is working on '­positive electrode solid electrolyte interphase (p-SEI) layer formation in Li-ion batteries'.

 

Lab Alumnus


Tushar, B.Tech.
Pursuing PhD at University of Wisconsin–Madison 
Undergraduate Project Topic: On-demand electric-field-mediated anchoring alteration of thin nematic liquid crystals.

 

Ayush Sharma, M.Tech.
Pursuing PhD at IIT (BHU) Varanasi
Master's Thesis Topic: Electric field mediated instability of a thin viscoelastic film in the presence of a deformable porous media.

Raj Saurabh, M.Tech.
Works at PricewaterhouseCooper (PwC)
Master's Thesis Topic: Deformable surface-instigated contact instabilities of a thin viscoelastic film.

Satyajeet Choudhury, M.Tech.
Works at Reliance New Solar Energy Ltd. 
Master's Thesis Topic: Electric field mediated instabilities and morphologies of nematic liquid crystals.

Rakesh Kumar Soni, M.Tech.
Master's Thesis Topic: Developing a continuum-scale single particle model (SPM) to uncover the degradation of NMC electrodes.

Jitendra Shankar Chute, M.Tech.
Works at Ecozen Solutions Pvt. Ltd. 
Master's Thesis Topic: Positive electrode and electrolyte degradation of Ni-rich Li-ion batteries: Effect of fast charging and elevated temperature.

Km Aruna Paswan, M.Tech.
Pursuing PhD at IIT (BHU) Varanasi  
Master's Thesis Topic: Degradation and fabrication of porous electrodes for Li-ion batteries.

 

Peer Reviewed Journals


2022

  1. Ferran Brosa Planella, Weilong Ai, Adam Boyce, Abir Ghosh et al., "A continuum of physics-based lithium-ion battery models reviewed", Progress in Energy, 4, 042003 [2022].

  2. Lucy M Morgan, Mazharul M Islam, Hui Yang, Kieran O’Regan, Anisha N Patel, Abir Ghosh et al., "From Atoms to Cells: Multiscale Modeling of LiNixMnyCozO2 Cathodes for Li-Ion Batteries", ACS Energy Letters, 7, 108-122 [2022].

2021

  1. Jacqueline Sophie Edge, Simon O'Kane, Ryan Prosser, Niall D Kirkaldy, Anisha N Patel, Alastair Hales, Abir Ghosh et al., "Lithium ion battery degradation: what you need to know", Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 23, 8200-8221 [2021].

  2. ​Abir Ghosh, Monica Marinescu, Jamie Foster, and Gregory Offer, "A Shrinking-Core Model for the Degradation of High-Nickel Cathodes (NMC811) in Li-Ion Batteries: Passivation Layer Growth and Oxygen Evolution", Journal of the Electrochemical Society, 168, 020509 [2021].

2020

  1. Sunny Kumar*, Abir Ghosh*, Joydip Chaudhuri, Ashok Kumar Dasmahapatra, and DipankarBandyopadhyay, "Self-organized Superspreading of Droplets to Fluid-Toroids", Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 578, 738-748 [2020].

  2. Shirsendu Mitra, Sunil Kumar Singh, Ekaterina Shevchenko, Mohit Sachan, Abir Ghosh, Mitali Basak, and Partho Sarathi Gooh Pattader, "Efficient Microextraction Process Exploiting Spontaneous Interfacial Convection Driven by Marangoni and Electric Field Induced Instability: A Computational Fluid Dynamics Study", Physics of Fluids, 32 (01), 014102 [2020].

2019

  1. Shirsendu Mitra, Shreya Mukherjee, Abir Ghosh, and Dipankar Bandyopadhyay, "Effects of Fluid-Structure-Interaction and Surface Heterogeneity on the Electrophoresis of Finite Sized Microparticles", Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 58, 6756-6766 [2019].

  2. Satarupa Dutta, Abir Ghosh, Partho Sarathi Gooh Pattader, and Dipankar Bandyopadhyay, "Electric Field Mediated von Kármán Vortices in Stratified Microflows: Transition from Linear Instabilities to Coherent Mixing", Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 865, 169-211 [2019].

  3. Bolleddu Ravi, Mitradip Bhattacharjee, Abir Ghosh, and Dipankar Bandyopadhyay, "Fabrication of Pixelated Liquid Crystal Nanolenses Employing the Contact Line Instabilities of Evaporating Films", Nanoscale, 11, 1680-1691 [2019].

2018

  1. Abir Ghosh, Dipankar Bandyopadhyay, and Ashutosh Sharma, "Micro-Patterning of Coatings on a Fiber Surface Exploiting the Contact Instabilities of Thin Viscoelastic Films", Physics of Fluids, 30 (11), 114101 [2018].

  2. Abir Ghosh, Dipankar Bandyopadhyay, and Ashutosh Sharma, "Electric Field Mediated Elastic Contact Lithography of Thin Viscoelastic Films for Miniaturized and Multiscale Patterns", Soft Matter, 14 (19), 3963-3977 [2018].

  3. Kartick Mondal*, Abir Ghosh*, Joydip Chaudhuri, and Dipankar Bandyopadhyay, "Electric Field Mediated Instability Modes and Fréedericksz Transition of Ultrathin Nematic Films", Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 834, 464-509 [2018].

2017

  1. Abir Ghosh, Dipankar Bandyopadhyay, Jayati Sarkar, and Ashutosh Sharma, "Hierarchical Micro- and Nanofabrication by Pattern-directed Contact Instabilities of Thin Viscoelastic Films", Physical Review Fluids, 2 (12), 124004 [2017]. 

  2. Bolleddu Ravi, Snigdha Chakraborty, Mitradip Bhattacharjee, Shirsendu Mitra, Abir Ghosh, Partho Sarathi Gooh Pattader, and Dipankar Bandyopadhyay, "Pattern-Directed Ordering of Spin-Dewetted Liquid Crystal Micro- or Nanodroplets as Pixelated Light Reflectors and Locomotives", ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 9, 1066-1076 [2017].

2016

  1. Abir Ghosh, Dipankar Bandyopadhyay, and Ashutosh Sharma, "Influence of The Mutable Kinetic Parameters on the Adhesion and Debonding of Thin Viscoelastic Films", Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 477, 109-122 [2016].

 

Conferences


  1. Abir Ghosh, Decoding Positive Electrode and Electrode-Electrolyte Interface Degradations: Insights for Next-generation Batteries8th International Conference on Advanced Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology (ICANN 2023)IIT Guwahati, Guwahati, Assam, India, Dec 2023. (Invited Talk)

  2. Ayush Sharma and Abir Ghosh, Electric-Field Mediated Instabilities of a Thin Viscoelastic-Porous Confined Bilayer76th Annual Meeting of the American Physical Society Division of Fluid Dynamics (APS DFD 2023)Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, DC, USA, Nov 2023. (Talk)

  3. Abir Ghosh, Degradation of Ni-rich Positive Electrodes (NMC811) in Li-ion Batteries: A Continuum-scale StudySoft Matter Young Investigator Meet (SMYIM 2023)Ashokas Tiger Trial Resort, Ramnagar, Uttarakhand, India, Jun 2023. (Invited Talk)

  4. Abir Ghosh, Fabrication of Liquid Crystal Nanostructures Employing Electronematodynamic Instabilities of Thin Nematic FilmsComplex Fluids and Symposium (CompFlu) 2022IIT Kharagpur & The Indian Society of Rheology(ISR), Kolkata, India, Dec 2022. (Invited Talk)

  5. Ayush Sharma and Abir Ghosh, Electric-Field Induced Instabilities of a Thin Confined Viscoelastic-Porous BilayerComplex Fluids and Symposium (CompFlu) 2022IIT Kharagpur & The Indian Society of Rheology(ISR), Kolkata, India, Dec 2022. (Poster)

  6. Tushar, Satyajeet Choudhury, Ayush Sharma, and Abir Ghosh, On-Demand Electric-Field Mediated Anchoring of Thin Nematic Liquid CrystalsComplex Fluids and Symposium (CompFlu) 2022IIT Kharagpur & The Indian Society of Rheology(ISR), Kolkata, India, Dec 2022. (Poster)

  7. Abir Ghosh, Degradation of Ni-rich Positive Electrodes (NMC811) in Li-ion BatteriesWorkshop on Electric Aircraft & Allied TechnologiesCSIR-NAL, Aeronautical Society of India, and Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, Bengaluru, India, Apr 2022. (Invited Talk)

  8. Ayush Sharma and Abir Ghosh, Fabrication of Laboratory Prototype to Investigate Solid State Electrochemical Devices1st Offline INUP-i2i WorkshopIIT Guwahati, Guwahati, Assam, India, Apr 2022. (Poster)

  9. Abir Ghosh, Monica Marinescu, Jamie Foster, and Gregory Offer, A Shrinking-Core Model for the Degradation of Ni-rich NMC (NMC 811) Electrodes-Core Model for the Degradation of Ni-rich NMC (NMC 811) ElectrodesMultiscale Modelling Workshop, The Faraday Institution and Imperial College London, UK, Apr 2021. (Presentation)

  10. ​Abir Ghosh, Monica Marinescu, Jamie Foster, and Gregory Offer, Effect of Oxygen Evolution and Passivation Layer Growth on The Degradation of Ni-rich Cathodes (NMC811) in Li-ion Batteries72nd Annual Meeting of the International Society of ElectrochemistryJeju Island, Korea, Aug 2021. (Oral)

  11. Abir Ghosh, Positive Electrode Degradation of Li-ion Batteries, Collaborative / Cross-disciplinary Working Panel, Conference and Review Meeting, The Faraday Institution, UK, Apr 2019. (Invited Talk)

  12. Abir Ghosh, Dipankar Bandyopadhyay, and Ashutosh Sharma, Pattern Directed Hierarchical and High-Aspect-Ratio Micro/Nano-Structures on Thin Viscoelastic Films Experiencing Contact Instability10th Liquid Matter Conference (Liquids 2017), Cankarjev dom Cultural and Congress Centre, Ljubljana, Slovenia, Jul 2017. (Poster) 

  13. Shirsendu Mitra, Abir Ghosh, and Dipankar Bandyopadhyay, A Computational Study on TravellingWave Periodic Column/Hole Formation Employing Electric Field LithographyInternational Conference on Emerging Trends in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICETINN-2017), Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology, Majitar, Sikkim, India, Mar 2017. (Talk)

  14. Abir Ghosh, Dipankar Bandyopadhyay, and Ashutosh Sharma, Contact Instability Induced High Aspect Ratio Ordered Micro/Nano-Structures in Adhesion and Debonding of Thin Viscoelastic Films in the Presence of Homogeneous and Heterogeneous ContactorInternational Conference on Emerging Trends in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICETINN-2017), Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology, Majitar, Sikkim, India, Mar 2017. (Talk)

  15. Abir Ghosh, Dipankar Bandyopadhyay, and Ashutosh Sharma, Fabrication of High Aspect Ratio Surface Patterns on Viscoelastic Thin Films with Mutable Kinetic Parameters3rd Indo-German workshop: Advances in Materials, Reactions & Separation Processes, IIT Guwahati, Guwahati, Assam, India, Feb 2016. (Poster, Best Poster Award)

  16. Shirsendu Mitra, Abir Ghosh, Surjendu Maity, and Dipankar Bandyopadhyay, Mathematical Modeling of Reactive-diffusion Phenomenon Involving Higher Order Reaction,  CHEMCON-2015, IIT Guwahati, Guwahati, Assam, India, Dec 2015. (Talk)

  17. Shirsendu Mitra, Abir Ghosh, Surjendu Maity, and Dipankar Bandyopadhyay, A Computational Study on the Periodic Drop Formation Employing the Electric Field Lithography4th International Conference on Advanced Nanomaterial and Nanotechnology (ICANN-2015), IIT Guwahati, Guwahati, Assam, India, Dec 2015. (Poster)

 

Courses Taught


  • CHE 462: Computational Fluid Dynamics (Spring 2020-21) 

  • CHE 101: Chemical Engineering Practices (Summer 2020-21)

  • CHO 301: Chemical Technology (Autumn 2021) 

  • CHE 405: Modelling, Simulations, and Optimization (Spring 2021-22)

  • CHE 202: Fluid Flow & Mechanical Operations (Autumn 2022)

  • CHE 405: Modelling, Simulations, and Optimization (Spring 2022-23)

  • CHE 202: Fluid Flow & Mechanical Operations (Autumn 2023)

  • CHE 519: Mathematical Methods in Chemical Engineering (Autumn 2023) (Co-Instructor: Prof. Debdip Bhandary)

  • CHE 405: Modelling, Simulations, and Optimization (Spring 2023-24)

  1. Mentor and Session Chair, Energy Materials Session, CheEmference - 2023: The 10th ChapterBITS Pilani, K.K. Birla Goa Campus, India, Oct 2023.
  2. International Travel GrantScience & Engineering Research Board (SERB), Department of Science & Technology, Government of India76th Annual Meeting of the American Physical Society Division of Fluid Dynamics (APS DFD 2023)Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, DC, USA, Nov 2023.
  3. Featured ArticleEfficient Microextraction Process Exploiting Spontaneous Interfacial Convection Driven by Marangoni and Electric Field Induced Instability: A Computational Fluid Dynamics Study, Physics of Fluids, 32 (01), 014102, 2020.
     
  4. Panel Member, Collaborative / Cross-disciplinary Working Panel, Conference and Review MeetingThe Faraday Institution, UK, Apr 2019.
     
  5. Featured ArticleMicro-Patterning of Coatings on a Fiber Surface Exploiting the Contact Instabilities of Thin Viscoelastic Films, Physics of Fluids, 30 (11), 114101, 2018.
     
  6. International Travel GrantScience & Engineering Research Board (SERB), Department of Science & Technology, Government of India10th Liquid Matter Conference (Liquids 2017), Cankarjev dom Cultural and Congress Centre, Ljubljana, Slovenia, Jul 2017.
     
  7. Best Poster Award3rd Indo-German workshop – Advances in Materials, Reactions & Separation Processes, Fabrication of High Aspect Ratio Surface Patterns on Viscoelastic Thin Films with Mutable Kinetic Parameters, IIT Guwahati, Guwahati, India, Feb 2016.