| Project Id
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BRJP26100121
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| Project Detail
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| Project Title
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Atomically Precise Nanocluster-assembled Plasmonic Nanoparticles: Next generation Catalysts for Energy Conversion
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| Senior Supervision Team (BITS)
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| Supervisor name and Title
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Amrita Chakraborty
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School or Department (or company, if applicable)
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BITS PILANI, HYDERABAD CAMPUS
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|
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Email ID
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amrita.chakraborty@hyderabad.bits-pilani.ac.in
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| URL for more info
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https://www.bits-pilani.ac.in/hyderabad/profamritachakraborty/
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| a) Are you currently supervising a BITS or RMIT HDR student?
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YES
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| Please comment how many you are supervising
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1
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| b) Have you supervised an offshore candidate before?
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NO
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| If no, what support structures do you have in place?
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|
| If yes, please elaborate
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N
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| Senior Supervision Team (RMIT)
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| Supervisor name and Title
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Prof. Daniel Gomez
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School or Department (or company, if applicable)
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STEM
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|
|
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Email ID
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daniel.gomez@rmit.edu.au
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| URL for more info
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https://danielgom3z.github.io/
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| a) Are you currently supervising a BITS or RMIT HDR student?
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YES
|
| Please comment how many you are supervising
|
7
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| b) Have you supervised an offshore candidate before?
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YES
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| If no, what support structures do you have in place?
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|
| If yes, please elaborate
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I am currently supervising an ACSIR student and have hosted overseas PhD visiting students
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| Other Supervisors (BITS)
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| Supervisor name and Title
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Prof. Sounak Roy
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School or Department (or company, if applicable)
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BITS PILANI, HYDERABAD CAMPUS
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| Phone Number (Optional)
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914066303611
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Email ID
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sounak.roy@hyderabad.bits-pilani.ac.in
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| URL for more info
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https://universe.bits-pilani.ac.in/hyderabad/sounak/Profile
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| Other Supervisors (BITS)
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| Supervisor name and Title
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Ewan Blanch
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School or Department (or company, if applicable)
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STEM
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| Phone Number (Optional)
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+61 3 9985 2890
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Email ID
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ewan.blanch@rmit.edu.au
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| URL for more info
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https://www.rmit.edu.au/profiles/b/ewan-blanch
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| Field of Research (For Codes)
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| 340301 | Inorganic materials (incl. nanomaterials) | 33.00 |
| 340304 | Optical properties of materials | 33.00 |
| 340601 | Catalysis and mechanisms of reactions | 34.00 |
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| Project Description
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Plasmon-induced energy and charge transfer provides a powerful strategy for solar energy harvesting via hot-carrier generation. Conventionally, wide-bandgap semiconductors are coupled with plasmonic metal nanoparticles (MNPs); however, inefficient carrier extraction and poor active-site control often limit catalytic efficiency. This project proposes a fundamentally new hybrid nanocatalyst platform by integrating plasmonic Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) with atomically precise metallic nanoclusters (MNCs).
MNCs (<2 nm) exhibit discrete electronic structures that enable atomic-level structure–activity correlations. For instance, Au25(SR)18 and Ag25(SR)18 show metal-dependent CO2 reduction pathways, underscoring the potential for active-site engineering. However, their weak light absorption and limited stability restrict practical deployment. We hypothesize that electronically coupled AuNP–MNC hybrids will facilitate efficient hot-carrier injection from plasmonic AuNPs into catalytically active MNCs, enhancing charge separation, catalytic turnover, and product selectivity in photo- and electrocatalytic CO2 conversion.
Chakraborty et al. have developed strategies to assemble diverse MNCs onto MNPs using tailored surface chemistry to ensure purely electronic coupling. Yet, their potential in energy-conserving catalytic transformations remains unexplored. The Gomez group has demonstrated that correlated dark-field scattering and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) can resolve structure–carrier extraction relationships at the single-particle level. We will leverage these techniques to quantify energy transfer efficiency in the proposed MNC–MNP hybrids.
Methodology
At BITS:
• Synthesize plasmonic AuNPs and catalytically active MNCs for model photo- and electrocatalytic CO2 reduction.
• Fabricate and structurally characterize AuNP–MNC hybrids using bulk spectroscopy and electron microscopy.
• Compare intrinsic catalytic activity of isolated MNCs versus hybrid systems.
• Tune AuNP size, composition, and surface facets to optimize hot-carrier generation and extraction.
At RMIT:
• Perform single-particle EELS to probe LSPR–MNC coupling with nanometer resolution.
• Assign plasmon modes via electrostatic eigenmode calculations.
• Investigate photoinduced charge transfer across the AuNP–MNC interface using linear sweep voltammetry and correlated optical measurements.
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| Project Deliverable/Outcomes
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The proposed research is expected to establish a fundamentally new design paradigm for plasmon-assisted energy conversion by integrating atomically precise metallic nanoclusters (MNCs) with plasmonic nanoparticles (NPs). While MNCs exhibit molecule-like electronic structures and well-defined active sites that enable atomic-level control over catalysis, their practical application remains limited by poor stability and inefficient light harvesting. The proposed AuNP–MNC hybrid architecture is anticipated to overcome these limitations by enabling electronic coupling between discrete MNC energy levels and plasmon-generated hot carriers in AuNPs.
• The project will demonstrate that plasmon–MNC coupling can enhance charge separation, hot-carrier injection, and catalytic turnover in model CO2 reduction or photo/electrocatalytic reactions, compared to isolated MNCs.
• Explore dual functionality of AuNPs: As an efficient photosensitizers and as stabilizing platforms that suppress aggregation and degradation of ultrasmall MNCs under operational conditions.
• Single-particle EELS combined with electrostatic eigenmode analysis will provide direct experimental evidence of plasmon–MNC interactions, enabling correlation between nanoscale energy transfer pathways and macroscopic catalytic performance.
• Size, morphology, and surface facets of the AuNPs will be tuned to establish structure–property–function relationships, offering a rational route toward optimizing hot-carrier extraction efficiency and catalytic selectivity.
Collectively, the project will generate new mechanistic insight into plasmon-induced energy and charge transfer across NP-MNC interfaces, advancing the field beyond traditional catalyst design toward predictive nanoarchitectures for solar energy conversion.
In addition to these scientific contributions, the project will train a doctoral researcher in advanced nanomaterial synthesis, high-resolution optical and electron spectroscopies, single-particle analysis, and catalytic evaluation. The BITS–RMIT collaboration will strengthen interdisciplinary research capacity at the interface of nanoscience, catalysis, and renewable energy. Anticipated outputs include high-impact publications, the potential for intellectual property in new class of hybrid catalyst material, and the development of expertise relevant to sustainable energy technologies.
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| Research Impact Themes
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| SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENT
| CLEAN ENERGY AND SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGIES |
| ADVANCED MATERIALS, MANUFACTURING AND FABRICATION | SPECIALISED MATERIALS |
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| Which RMIT Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) does your project align to
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AFFORDABLE AND CLEAN ENERGY
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| Which RMIT Enabling Impact Platform (EIP) does your project align to
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ADVANCED MATERIALS, MANUFACTURING AND FABRICATION
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| Which RMIT Program code will this project sit under?
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DR229 PhD (AppliedChemistry)
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| Student Capabilities and Qualifications
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Nanoparticle synthesis, Spectroscopic characterization (UV vis, FTIR, fluorescence))
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Catalysis, Electron microscopy
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MSc
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| Preferred discipline of Student
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| Chemistry or Chemical Sciences |
| Chemistry, Electrochemistry, Medicinal Chemistry, Coputational Chemistry, Colloids, Surface Chemistry, Catalysis |
| Materials Chemistry |
| MSc in Chemistry |
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