Department of Physics
National Institute of Technology Calicut
Research Projects & Grants:
Ongoing Projects
Optically Controlled Large Area 3D Multicomponent Colloidal Architectures as High-Performing Electrocatalytic Materials for Clean Energy Applications
This project aims to develop light-mediated, tunable large-area multicomponent colloidal crystals (MCCs) with controlled morphology for high-performance electrocatalysts used in clean energy technologies, including hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), oxygen evolution reaction (OER), oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), and carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO₂RR).
Funding Agency: Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF)
Grant Scheme: Advanced Research Grant (ARG)
Project Duration: December 2025 – December 2028 (3 years)
File No: ANRF/ARG/2025/009240/PS
Total Project Cost: ₹87,90,883
Liquid Marble Microcontainers - Controlled Fabrication and Potential Applications
This project focuses on the development of flexible liquid-marble–based microcontainers using phase-change and stimuli-responsive materials for controlled encapsulation and actuation. The research involves fabricating liquid marbles by coating droplets with functional particles and integrating responsive polymers to enable reconfigurability, flexibility, and triggered response to external stimuli such as heat, light, or pH. Detailed studies on the structure, interfacial properties, and stability of liquid marble microcontainers under varying environmental and mechanical conditions are carried out to ensure reliable performance. The project further explores their practical applications as microcontainers in chemical reactions, bioassays, drug delivery, and sensing, with emphasis on stimuli-induced release, reaction initiation, and directed transport.
Funding Agency: Department of Science and Technology (DST)
Grant Scheme: WISE Post-Doctoral Fellowship (WISE-PDF)
Project Duration: April 2024 – March 2027 (3 years)
File No: DST/WISE-PDF/PM-35/2023 (G)
Total Project Cost: ₹40,42,967
Extraction of Colloidal Particles from Dilute Suspensions Based on Controlled Droplet Impact
This project studies droplet impact dynamics and particle assembly to enable controlled extraction of particle-enriched microdroplets. An experimental setup combining high-speed imaging, dark-field, and fluorescence microscopy is developed to investigate internal flow and particle behavior during droplet impact under different impact conditions and surface wettability. The impact parameters are optimized to generate daughter droplets with enhanced particle concentration, and tilted and patterned surfaces are explored for efficient collection. Particle concentration is quantified using optical and fluorescence techniques, and the developed approach is extended to the extraction of soft matter systems such as biological cells and biomolecules.
Funding Agency: Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment (KSCSTE)
Scheme: Kerala State Young Scientist Award Scheme (KSYSA)
Project Duration: June 2023 – June 2026 (3 years)
File No: 93/2023/KSCSTE
Total Project Cost: ₹24,25,000
Completed Projects
Optically-Controlled Programmable Assembly of Multi-Component 3D Colloidal Crystals from Evaporating Droplets
This project investigates the optofluidic patterning of multicomponent colloidal crystals using light-induced assembly. A custom optofluidic setup is developed to control particle organization through optical field, with systematic optimization of temperature gradients, particle concentration, and particle size ratios to achieve controlled and reproducible patterns. Large-area crystal patterning is realized using a spatial light modulator (SLM) integrated with a translational stage. The fabricated structures are characterized using optical microscopy, 3D optical profilometry, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to evaluate their morphology and structural order.
Funding Agency: SERB–DST (now Anusandhan National Research Foundation – ANRF)
Grant Scheme: Core Research Grant (CRG)
Project Duration: February 2023 – February 2026 (3 years)
File No: CRG/2022/006858
Total Project Cost: ₹47,80,380
Optofluidic Platform for Controlled Droplet Manipulation
This ECRA project aims to address key challenges in microfluidics—long-range transport, separation, and merging/mixing of droplets—using an optically reconfigurable capillary interaction platform. By incorporating azobenzene-based photoswitchable surfactants, light is used to dynamically tune surface tension and meniscus shape at liquid interfaces, enabling precise and on-demand droplet manipulation. The project involves designing an experimental setup to study droplet dynamics, investigating the role of surfactant concentration on interfacial tension and droplet behavior, and modeling droplet shapes using Surface Evolver. Overall, the work seeks to develop a programmable optofluidic platform for light-controlled droplet transport, separation, merging, and splitting.
Funding Agency: Department of Science and Technology (DST)
Scheme: Early Career Research Award (ECRA)
Project Duration: March 2018 – March 2021 (3 years)
File No: ECR/2017/000583
Total Project Cost: ₹46,76,402
Stimuli-Responsive Microfluidics
This project aims to develop light-responsive closed microfluidic channels by integrating smart, stimuli-responsive materials. By incorporating photosensitive materials such as azobenzene and PNIPAM into microchannels, we will use light to reversibly control surface wettability and drive liquid motion in confined environments. The study will advance fundamental understanding of interfacial physics and light–matter interactions in microfluidic systems, while also enabling precise control over fluid transport and biomolecular interactions. Ultimately, this work seeks to establish a new class of programmable optofluidic devices with potential applications in biosensing and advanced microfluidic technologies. After completing the proposed objectives, research work was extended to microfluidic applications of liquid marbles.
Funding Agency: Department of Science and Technology (DST)
Scheme: Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE) Faculty Award
Project Duration: February 20216 – February 2022 (6 years)
File No: DST/INSPIRE/04/2015/000544
Total Project Cost: ₹52,28,801
Grants