Rohit B Raj

PhD candidate
AMOLF

Department

Sustainable Energy materials

Contact information

Room
AMOLF – Room number 2.53

Email address
R.Raj@amolf.nl

Key expertises

Plasmonics, photocatalysis, spectroscopy, single-particle studies, CO2 reduction

About me

I am from India. I received my BS-MS degree from IISER Pune. On learning about Plasmonics, while an undergrad at IISER Pune, I was plagued by many fundamental questions about the decay pathways. This inspired me to pursue my MS in Plasmonic catalysis. The inherently collaborative and intellectually involved nature of scientific pursuit motivated me to pursue a PhD. Apart from science, I love to travel, meet people, try new cuisines, work out, and dance!!

About my research

During my PhD, our goal is to use different plasmonic materials and use gap plasmon resonances to create an energy selective plasmonic reactor for CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR). I intend to explore the nanoparticle on mirror geometry (NPoM) to gain insights into the intermediates formed during CO2RR. We plan to tune the gap plasmon to specifically bind certain intermediates to get specific products, ultimately achieving product selectivity. The learnings from single-particle studies will be then used in catalytic reactors to achieve product selectivity in bulk scale CO2 reduction. The success of this project will take us a step closer to using CO2 as feedstock for fuels and achieving a circular economy.

Academic career

Master student Oct 2020-Aug 2021: Master student in the group of Dr Pramod Pillai at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune, India. Thesis: “Plasmonic catalysis using anisotropic nanoparticles” Bachelor student Jan 2020-March 2020: Semester project in the group of Dr Musthafa Muhammed at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune, India. Project: “Electrochemical study of ferricyanide reduction” Bachelor student May 2019-July 2010: Summer project in the group of Prof. Nagarajarao Suryaprakash at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, India. Project: “Study and characterization of organic molecules using NMR”

Awards and scientific honors

Received the Innovation in Science Pursuit and Inspired Research Fellowship Grant (INSPIRE Fellowship) from the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. (2016-2021)