ranjith-nair Department: PHYSICS
Associate Professor
Phone: 9401519326
Email: rgnair@phy.nits.ac.in
 
Alternate Contact No.: 9401519326
Alternate E-mail ID: rgnair2007@gmail.com
Date of Joining: 2012-07-17
URL of Web Profile:
Academic Qualifications
  • Ph.D at Tezpur University in association with Montpellier University-2, France (2013).
  • M.Phil at Bharathiar University (2008).
  • B.Ed at Mysore University (2006).
  • M.Sc at Bharathiar University (2005).
  • B.Sc at Calicut University (2003).
Courses Taught:
  • B.Tech Physics
  • Physics of semiconductors
Experience
Experience Duration: 11Y
Experience Description: Assistant Professor From: 17th July 2012 to 17th October 2023 Associate Professor From 18th October 2023 to Till Date
Area of Interest/Specialization : Condensed Matter Physics: Solar Energy
Teaching Interests : Condensed Matter Physics, Solar Energy, Electronics, Electrodynamics
Research Interests : Solar Photocatalysis, Solar Photovoltaics, Ion Beam Irradiation and Energy materials
Administrative Interests : Associate Dean (R & C), NIT Silchar since 09/10/2018 Nodal Officer, 1MWp Solar Roof Top Installation at NIT Silchar under RESCO Mode since 18/01/2019. Faculty Incharge, Central XRD Facility, NIT Silchar since 31/05/2018 Associate Warden, Hostel-8, NIT Silchar from 04/02/2016 to 20th September 2018.; Coordinator, Gyansagar, NIT Silchar from 09/09/2015 to 28/02/2019; Coordinator, Renewable Energy, Unnath Bharath Abhiyan (UBA) since 22/09/2015; Convener, SESI student’s chapter at NIT Silchar since 29th August, 2013.
Biographical Sketch : Dr. Ranjith G. Nair is an Assistant Professor in Physics at National Institute of Technology Silchar. He teaches in M.Sc Applied Physics program and Engineering Physics for B.Tech Students. His thrust areas of research are Solar Photocatalysis, Solar Photovoltaics, Ion Beam Irradiation and Energy materials. Two research scholars and two M.Sc students are working under him and he has 01 sponsored project in association with Inter University Acceleration Centre, New Delhi and 01 solar roof top installation project sponsored by Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. A Solar E-Rickshaw with hybrid power generation has been developed by him along with few B.Tech students and the technology has been submitted for patent. He has completed his Ph.D from Tezpur University in collaboration with Montpellier University-2, France. During his entire research tenure he has published 14 international journal publications with an average impact factor 3. Moreover he conducted a one week Short-term training program on Renewables in Science and Engineering. He has also participated and presented his research in many workshops, seminars, STTPs etc. in India and abroad. He is also the recipients of many awards/fellowships like ITS-SERB, Indo-French Sandwich Fellowship, CSIR-SRF, MNRE-NREF-SRF, Best Poster Award of ISCA etc.
Awards/Achievements : Patent: Nikhil S K, Pujita Ningthoukhongjam, Soumik Chakraborty, Ranjith G. Nair, A system of designing an indigenous fixed mode continuous photocatalytic reactor with replaceable cartridge type photocatalyst loading, German Patent (2021) Reviewer, DST-SERB Sponsored Projects (2015); DST sponsored International Travel Support (ITS) for Young Scientists (2015) ; Sandwich Ph.D. Fellowship sponsored by French Embassy in India (2011); Senior Research Fellow (SRF) of Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (2012) ; Senior Research Fellow (SRF) of National Renewable Energy Fellowship (2011); Senior Research Fellow (SRF) of the DST Research Project (2009 to 2011); Best Poster Award in 97th Indian Science Congress held at Trivandrum (2010); First Prize in National level Paper Presentation (2007).
P.G. Scholars Guided: Dr. Abinash Das, Ms. Ruby Barman, Mr. Jintu Pathak, Mr. Kan Dekha, Mr. Pradip Kumar Gupta, Ms. Panchali Malakar, Mr. Riu Riu, Ms. Moumita Patra, Mr. Manoj Hazarika, Mr. Joshi Pushkar Shrikant, Ms Amandeep Kour, Mr. Mrigendra Yadav, Mr. Arun Pandey (Ongoing), Ms. Gopika R Nair (Ongoing).
Ph.D. Scholars Guided: Dr. Abinash Das (Completed), Mr. Nikhil S.K. (Ongoing), Ms. Trinayana Deka (Ongoing), Ms. Pujita Ningthoukhongjam (Ongoing), Ms. Suma Das (Ongoing), Ms. Nisha Banerjee (Ongoing), Mr. Ajoy Dey (Ongoing), Ms. Sarita Jena (Ongoing), Mr. Bibek Ranjan Mangaraj (Ongoing).
Projects: Development of Visible Active Multiphasic Titania- Metal Oxide Nanoheterojunction Photocatalyst with Enhanced Green Hydrogen Production Capacity and Test its Utility in an Indigenously Fabricated Prototype Solar Photocatalytic Reactor for Large Scale Applications, Dr. Ranjith G. Nair (Principal Investigator), Prof. S. S. Dhar & Dr. A. Biswas (Co-PIs) , Funding Agency: DST – SERB, Duration: 3 Years (24/01/2023 to 23/01/2026), Amount: 46.39 Lakhs. Fabrication and Testing of Tandem Layered Quantum Dot Sensitized Solar Cell with Elevated Absorption, Dr. Ranjith G. Nair (Principal Investigator), Dr. Avijit Chowdhury (Co- Principal Investigator), Sponsored by: DST-SERB, 3 years (From 2016 to 2019), Amount: Rs.2513390.00; Energetic Ion beam assisted synthesis of Ag/Au ion implanted Titania/ZnO thin film and investigation of their Utility as Photoanode for Dye Sensitized Solar Cell, Dr. Ranjith G. Nair (Principal Investigator), Sponsored by: UGC-IUAC, 3 years (From 2015 to 2018), Amount: Rs.675000.00;
Book / Chapters Published: Proceedings of 28th National Conference on Condensed Matter Physics, Condensed Matter Days 2020 (CMDAYS20), Springer Proceedings in Physics, ISBN 978-981-16-5406-0, Edited by: Ranjith G. Nair, Lalu Seban, Pujita Ningthoukhongjam Soumik Chakraborty, Ranjith G Nair, Lalu Seban, Dye Sensitized Solar Cell Parameter Extraction Using Particle Swarm Optimization. Modeling, Simulation and Optimization: Proceedings of CoMSO 2020. Springer Singapore, 2021. Soumik Chakraborty, Ranjith G Nair, Lalu Seban, Parameter Extraction of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell: Improved Method and Comparative Analysis.” Communication and Control for Robotic Systems. Springer, Singapore, 2021. 341-354. P Mathan Kumar, Abinash Das, Lalu Seban, Ranjith G Nair, Fabrication and life time of perovskite solar cells. Perovskite Photovoltaics. Academic Press, 2018. 231-287
Publications
Journals (International):
  1. Suma Das, Swapnamoy Pramanik, Ranjith G Nair, Avijit Chowdhury, Unlocking the Potential of Thermally Exfoliated Ultrathin gC3N4 Nanosheets: Abundant Active Sites for Enhanced Solar Photocatalysis, New Journal of Chemistry, 2023, 47, 12418-12430
  2. Abinash Das, Dongyu Liu, Riu Riu Wary, Andrey S. Vasenko, Oleg V. Prezhdo, and Ranjith G. Nair, Enhancement of Photocatalytic and Photoelectrochemical Performance of ZnO by Mg Doping: Experimental and Density Functional Theory Insights, The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 14 (18), (2023) 4134-4141
  3. Riu Riu Wary, Dulu Brahma, SK Nikhil, Ranjith G. Nair, Pranjal Kalita, Manasi Buzar Baruah,Surface decoration of spherical Ag3PO4 with Ag embedded nano-cocoon BiPO4 nano-heterojunction photocatalyst with improved photodegradation of tetracycline hydrochloride and industrial dyes, Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects, 669 (2023) 131541
  4. Suma Das, Soumik Das, Avijit Chowdhury, Ranjith G Nair, Magnetically separable ZnFe2O4 grafted g-C3N4/rGO ternary nanocomposites for enhanced photo-Fenton catalytic activity under visible-light, Materials Today Sustainability, 21 (2023) 100263
  5. Soumik Chakraborty, Ranjith G Nair, Lalu Seban, Development and validation of an improved model for Dye-sensitized solar cell and estimation of the optimum design parameters for maximum performance, Optik, 270 (2022) 170012
  6. Trinayana Deka, Pujita Ningthoukhangjam, Mrigendra Yadav, Ranjith G. Nair Optimization of various photocatalytic reaction parameters of Degussa P25 under UV irradiation, Journal of the Indian Chemical Society, 99 (2022), 100747
  7. S Das, T Deka, P Ningthoukhangjam, A Chowdhury, RG Nair . ” A critical review on prospects and challenges of metal-oxide embedded g-C3N4-based direct Z-scheme photocatalysts for water splitting and environmental remediation.” Applied Surface Science Advances 11(2022), 100273
  8. A Das, P Ningthoukhongjam, RG Nair. “A Study on the Crucial Reaction Parameters Involved in Photocatalytic and Sonophotocatalytic Removal of Organic Pollutants” Water, Air, & Soil Pollution 233 (7)(2022), 1-19
  9. P Ningthoukhongjam, M Bhagavathiachari, Ranjith G Nair. “Effect of anatase-rutile phase ratio of titania photoanode on photoelectrochemical performance and photoconversion efficiency.” Optical Materials 127(2022), 112269
  10. Abinash Das, Trinayana Deka, P.Mathan Kumar, Muthuraaman Bhagavathiachari, Ranjith G. Nair, Ag-modified ZnO nanorods and its dual application in visible light-driven photoelectrochemical water oxidation and photocatalytic dye degradation: A correlation between optical and electrochemical properties, Advanced Powder Technology, 33(2), (2022) 103434
  11. Abinash Das, Ranjith G Nair, Fabrication of In2O3 functionalized ZnO based nanoheterojunction photoanode for improved DSSC performance through effective interfacial charge carrier separation, Optical Materials, (2021) 111784
  12. S K Nikhil, Abinash Das, Muthuraaman Bhagavathiachari, Ranjith G Nair, Effect of aspect ratio of c-axis oriented ZnO nanorods on photoelectrochemical performance and photoconversion efficiency, Optical Materials, 121 (2021) 111551
  13. Abinash Das, P Mathan Kumar, Muthuraaman Bhagavathiachari, Ranjith G Nair, Shape selective flower-like ZnO nanostructures prepared via structure-directing reagent free methods for efficient photocatalytic performance. Materials Science and Engineering: B 269 (2021): 115149.
  14. Abinash Das, Moumita Patra, Muthuraaman Bhagavathiachari, Ranjith G Nair, Role of type II heterojunction in ZnO–In2O3 nanodiscs for enhanced visible-light photocatalysis through the synergy of effective charge carrier separation and charge transport. Materials Chemistry and Physics 263 (2021): 124431.
  15. Abinash Das, Moumita Patra, Muthuraaman Bhagavathiachari, Ranjith G Nair, Defect-induced visible-light-driven photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical performance of ZnO–CeO2 nanoheterojunctions. Journal of Alloys and Compounds 858 (2021): 157730.
  16. Abinash Das, P Mathan Kumar, Muthuraaman Bhagavathiachari, Ranjith G Nair, Hierarchical ZnO-TiO2 nanoheterojunction: A strategy driven approach to boost the photocatalytic performance through the synergy of improved surface area and interfacial charge transport. Applied Surface Science 534 (2020): 147321.
  17. Abinash Das, Riu Riu Wary, Ranjith G Nair, Cu modified ZnO nanoflakes: An efficient visible light-driven photocatalyst and a promising photoanode for dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC). Solid State Sciences 104 (2020): 106290.
  18. Abinash Das, Ranjith G Nair, Effect of aspect ratio on photocatalytic performance of hexagonal ZnO nanorods. Journal of Alloys and Compounds 817 (2020): 153277
  19. Abinash Das, Riu Riu Wary, Ranjith G Nair, Mn-doped ZnO: Role of morphological evolution on enhanced photocatalytic performance. Energy Reports 6 (2020): 737-741.
  20. Abinash Das, SK Nikhil, Ranjith G Nair, Influence of surface morphology on photocatalytic performance of zinc oxide: a review. Nano-Structures & Nano-Objects 19 (2019): 100353.
  21. Ranjith G Nair, Swapna Ojah, P Mathan Kumar, SK Nikhil, SK Samdarshi, Role of copper and silver modified titania photoanode on performance engineering of dye sensitized solar cells. Materials Letters 221 (2018): 313-317
  22. Abinash Das, P Malakar, Ranjith G Nair, Engineering of ZnO nanostructures for efficient solar photocatalysis, Materials Letters 219 (2018): 76-80
  23. Samrat Paul, BijumaniRajbongshi, Birinchi Bora, Ranjith G Nair and S K Samdarshi, Organic photovoltaic cells using green-MWCNTs, New Carbon Materials, (2017), Accepted (Impact Factor: NA).
  24. Ranjith G. Nair, Abinash Das, Samrat Paul, BijumaniRajbongshi, S. K. Samdarshi, MWCNT decorated V-doped titania: An efficient visible active photocatalyst, Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 695 (2017) 3511-3516 (Impact Factor: 3.014).
  25. Ranjith G. Nair, Paranjyothi Baradwaj, Sanjoy Kumar Samdarshi, Design improvement and performance evaluation of solar photocatalytic reactor for industrial effluent treatment, Ecotoxicology and environmental safety, Elsevier (2015), ISSN: 0147-6513, (Impact Factor: 3.30).
  26. Ranjith G. Nair, Sanjoy Kumar Samdarshi, Bruno Boury, The surface mineralization of cellulose by metal chloride. An original pathway for the synthesis of hierarchical superstructures of TiO2 -like urchins and carpets of needles, European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry, Wiley (2013) 5303–5310, ISSN: 1099-0682, (Impact Factor: 3.12).
  27. Barnali Das, Ranjith G Nair, R. Bijumani, S. K. Samdarshi, Investigation of the photoactivity of pristine and mixed phase N-doped Titania under visible and solar irradiation, Material Characterization, Elsevier, 83 (2013) 145-151 ISSN: 1044-5803 (Impact Factor: 1.88).
  28. Bruno Boury, Ranjith. G. Nair, Sanjoy K Samdarshi, Tahereh Makiabadi and P. Hubert Mutin, Non-hydrolytic synthesis of hierarchical TiO2 nanostructures using natural cellulosic materials as both oxygen donors and templates, New Journal of Chemistry, RSC, 36 (2012) 2196-2200, ISSN: 1144-0546 (Impact Factor: 2.966).
  29. Ranjith. G. Nair, Jetendra Kumar Roy, S. K. Samdarshi, A. K. Mukherjee, Mixed phase V doped titania shows high photoactivity for disinfection of Escherichia coli and detoxification of phenol, Solar Energy Materials and Solar cells, Elsevier, 105 (2012)103-108ISSN: 0927-0248 (Impact Factor: 5.205).
  30. Ranjith. G. Nair, A. M. Tripathi, S. K. Samdarshi, Impact of Ti-V ratio on the crystalline phase/visible light activity of TiV-oxide photocatalyst, Environmental Progress and Sustainable Energy, Wiley, 31(1) (2012) 107-113 ISSN: 1944-7450 (Impact Factor: 0.865).
  31. Ranjith. G. Nair, A. M. Tripathi and S. K. Samdarshi, Photocatalytic activity of predominantly rutile mixed phase Ag/TiV oxide nanoparticles under visible light irradiation, Energy, Elsevier, 36 (2011) 3342-3347, ISSN: 0360-5442 (Impact Factor: 4.107).
  32. Ranjith. G. Nair, Jetendra Kumar Roy, S. K. Samdarshi, A. K. Mukherjee, Enhanced visible light photocatalytic disinfection of gram negative, pathogenic Escherichia coli bacteria with Ag/TiV oxide nanoparticles, Colloids and surfaces B: Biointerfaces, Elsevier, 86 (2011) 7-13, ISSN: 0927-7765 (Impact Factor: 3.417).
  33. Ranjith. G. Nair, Samrat Paul, S. K. Samdarshi, High UV/Visible light activity of mixed phase titania: A generic mechanism, Solar Energy Materials and Solar cells, Elsevier, 95 (2011) 1901-1907, ISSN: 0927-0248 (Impact Factor: 5.205)
  34. R. Sathyamoorthy, P. Sudhaghar, R. Saravanakumar, P. Matheswaran and Ranjith. G. Nair, Facile synthesis of thiol stabilized CdSexTe1-x Nanocrystals, Physica B: Condensed Matter, Elsevier, 406 (4) (2011) 715-719, ISSN: 0921-4526 (Impact Factor: 1.135).
  35. A. M. Tripathi, Ranjith. G. Nair, S. K. Samdarshi, Visible active Silver sensitized Vanadium Titanium mixed metal oxide photocatalyst nanoparticles through sol gel technique, Solar Energy Materials and Solar cells, Elsevier, 94(12) (2010) 2379-2385 ISSN: 0927-0248 (Impact Factor: 5.205)
  36. M. Nirmala, Manjula G. Nair, K. Rekha, A. Anukaliani, S.K. Samdarshi and Ranjith G. Nair, Photocatalytic Activity of ZnO Nanopowders Synthesized by DC Thermal Plasma, African Journal of Basic & Applied Sciences, IDOSI, 2 (5-6) (2010) 161-166, ISSN: 2079-2034, (Impact Factor: NA).
Journals (National):
  1. Swapna Ojah, Ranith G. Nair, S. K. Samdarshi, Recent Developments in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells, Akshay Urja, 7(1) (2013) 10-13
Conferences (International):
  1. Trinayana Deka, Ranjith G Nair, Photocatalytic performance evaluation of visible active α-SnWO4 under different wavelengths, Materials Today: Proceedings, (2022) 68, 204-208
  2. A Das, P Ningthoukhongjam, RG Nair. “A Study on the Crucial Reaction Parameters Involved in Photocatalytic and Sonophotocatalytic Removal of Organic Pollutants .” Water, Air, & Soil Pollution 233 (7)(2022), 1-19.
  3. P Ningthoukhongjam, M Bhagavathiachari, RG Nair. “Effect of anatase-rutile phase ratio of titania photoanode on photoelectrochemical performance and photoconversion efficiency.” Optical Materials 127(2022), 112269.
  4. Pujita Ningthoukhongjam, Ranjith G Nair, Tuning the photocatalytic performance of Degussa P25 through phase ratio optimization. AIP Conference Proceedings. Vol. 2162. No. 1. AIP Publishing LLC, 2019.
  5. Nikhil SK, Ranjith G Nair, Role of alcohol solvents on physico-chemical characteristics and photocatalytic performance of titania. AIP Conference Proceedings. Vol. 2162. No. 1. AIP Publishing LLC, 2019.
  6. Abinash Das, Riu Riu Wary, SK Nikhil, Ranjith G Nair, Cu doped ZnO as an efficient visible active photocatalyst. AIP Conference Proceedings. Vol. 2162. No. 1. AIP Publishing LLC, 2019.
  7. Abinash Das, Riu Riu Wary, Ranjith G Nair, Magnesium doped zinc oxide as an efficient solar photocatalyst. AIP Conference Proceedings. Vol. 2115. No. 1. AIP Publishing LLC, 2019.
  8. Abinash Das, Moumita Patra, Manoj Hazarika, Ranjith G Nair, ZnO-In2O3 nanocomposite: An efficient solar photocatalyst. AIP Conference Proceedings. Vol. 2100. No. 1. AIP Publishing LLC, 2019
  9. Abinash Das, Manoj Hazarika, Ranjith G Nair, Synthesis and characterization of ZnO nanoflowers as an efficient solar photocatalyst. AIP Conference Proceedings. Vol. 2100. No. 1. AIP Publishing LLC, 2019
  10. Abinash Das, Moumita Patra, Riu Riu Wary, Pradip Gupta, Ranjith G Nair, Photocatalytic performance analysis of Degussa P25 under various laboratory conditions, 2018, IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering
  11. Ranjith G Nair, P Mathan Kumar, SK Samdarshi, Performance engineering of dye sensitized solar cells (DSSC) using Ag modified titania as photoanode 2018, IOP Publishing
  12. P. K. Kushwaha, Abhijit Gope and Ranjith G. Nair, Solar e-Rickshaw: A Green Local Transport Solution, 2014, International Congress on Renewable Energy(ICORE) held at Manekshaw Center, New Delhi.
  13. Swapna Ojah, Ranjith. G. Nair and S. K. Samdarshi, Synthesis of copper sensitized nanoparticle for solar cell application, 2011, International Congress on Renewable Energy(ICORE) held at Tezpur University
  14. Ranjith. G. Nair and S. K. Samdarshi, Visible light induced Photocatalytic disinfection of E.coli using Vanadium doped Titanium dioxide, 2010, International Congress on Renewable Energy(ICORE) held at Chandigarh
  15. Swapna Ojah, Ranjith G. Nair and S. K. Samdarshi, A review on recent development in Dye Sensitized Solar Cells, 2010, International Congress on Renewable Energy(ICORE) held at Chandigarh
  16. Paranjyoti Bharadwaj, R. G. Nair and S. K. Samdarshi, Designing Geometry of a Compound Parabolic Solar Reactor with Cylindrical Absorber used for Photocatalytic Detoxification, 2010, International Congress on Renewable Energy(ICORE) held at Chandigarh
  17. S. K. Samdarshi, Ranjith. G. Nair and A. M. Tripathi, Development of Visible Active Ag deposited TiV oxide Photocatalytic Nanoparticle system, 2009, International Congress on Renewable Energy(ICORE) held at New Delhi
Conferences (National):