Patra Research Group

Patra Research Group is an interdisciplinary theoretical and computational laboratory in the department of chemical engineering at IIT Madras. Our focus is on the molecular-scale design of soft and nano materials. We combine molecular simulations, machine learning and statistical thermodynamics to advance the current understanding of molecular scale interactions and processes that determine macroscopic properties of soft materials. We further develop and employ high-throughput computational methods to accelerate soft materials design. The potential systems of interest are polymer electrolytes, polymer nanocomposites, and nanoparticle superlattices. In all of these systems, polymer segmental dynamics play a key role in determining their structure and thermophysical properties. We strive to understand these correlations and manipulate nanoscale interactions for discovering new materials.

Overall, we are a data-driven science and materials design laboratory studying complex physical science problems that have implications to energy, environment, medicine and future electronics. Our works aim to develop useful design rules for flexible electronics; polyelectrolytes for energy storage application; and more efficient nanostructured materials for gas storage, water purification, energy harvesting and many other applications.