Dharmesh Varade
Associate Professor
PhD (South Gujarat University)
+91.79.61911135
Research Interests: Soft Matter, Nanomaterials, Nanocomposites, Surfactants.
Dharmesh Varade has been an Associate Professor at SEAS since September 2014. Earlier, he worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher at several reputed institutes like Kawamura Institute of Chemical Research, Japan from March 2011 to March 2014; University of Paris XI, France (CNRS Fellowship) from September 2009 to August 2010; University College Dublin, Ireland from June 2008 to December 2008 (Marie Curie SOCON Fellowship); and Yokohama National University, Japan from July 2005 to March 2008 (JSPS Fellowship). He has also worked with the CSIR project from April 2003 to June 2005 at VNSGU, Surat as a Research Associate. His research areas are synthesis and characterization of Nanomaterials, Nanocomposites, Wormlike Micelles, Foams, and Microemulsions. He has published more than 60 research papers in international peer-reviewed journals with a total citation till 2018 exceeding 1500, and an h index of 21 (Google Scholar). He is an active member of review committees of leading journals of ACS and Elsevier. He has presented his research papers in more than 10 different countries and received the best presentation award in International Congress on Advanced Materials, Bangkok. Currently he has research grant from DST-SERB (38 Lakhs) and grant from Indian Tobacco Company-ITC (52 Lakhs). He is supervising 3 PhD students and 11 UGRP students working in the area of surfactants and nanomaterials
EXTERNAL FUNDED PROJECTS
1. Solution Properties of Mixed Surfactant Systems:
PI: Dr Dharmesh Varade:
Members:Gajendra Rajput and Niki Pandya
Funding Organization: ITC Life Sciences & Technology Centre, ITC LTD. Bangalore
Funding Amount: approx. Rs. 52 lacs
Duration: 3 years, August 2017 to July 2020
Project Summary:
The main objective of this project is to develop profound understanding with tailored approach for utilizing surfactants in mixtures. This project involves a multitude of activities ranging from selection of surfactant mixtures, understanding and optimization of surfactant self-assembly and evaluating the physicochemical properties of the mixed surfactant systems. We envisioned a long term program to develop innovative solutions for creating design rules for utilizing these surfactant combinations in formulating the products.
2. Superstable Responsive Aqueous Foam for Synthesis of Novel Biomimetic Materials
PI: Dr Dharmesh Varade
Co-PI: Dr Ajay Karakoti
Members: Manyala Dhana Lakshmi
Funding Organization: DST - SERB Early Career Research Award from DST, India
Funding Amount: Approx. 38 Lakh
Duration: 3 years, Jan 2017-Jan 2020
Proposal Summary:
The proposed project is on a simple and sustainable system that combines a good foamability and an outstanding foam stability, which can then be readily tuned to weak foam stability by changing the polymorphism of the system upon heating. To achieve this, catanionic surfactant systems, i.e.mixtures of cationic and anionic surfactants will be utilized. Such mixtures are expected to show decent properties with respect to foam formation and stabilization as they are well-known to pack very competently at the gas/water interface, affords free surfactant in solution and form vesicles usually considered at thermodynamic equilibrium. The existence of vesicles will affords bulk viscoelastic properties and provides good foam stabilities once generated as by efficiently blocking the liquid drainage. Here, the foamability and the outstanding foam stability of that system at room temperature will be studied, establishing the link to the supramolecular assembly (vesicles) in water; this stable foam can be used as templates for synthesis of novel biomimetic materials. In solution, those vesicles may melt into micelles at a temperature depending on the nature of the surfactants. Hence, this can allows us to tune the foam stability with temperature. The stabilizing surfactant aggregates adsorbed at the gas/liquid interface is quite analogous with the extended form of Langmuir monolayers. These monolayers, arranged parallel to each other and separated by Plateau border, offers greater possibility for the binding various charged ions at the gas–liquid interface, thereby, utilizing the liquid lamellae as a plausible template for growing a wide variety of biomimetic materials like metal and alloy nanoparticles (Au, Pt, Ag, Pd, Ni, Co etc.), metal oxide (CeO2) and metal oxide on metal (MOM) nanoparticles ([email protected]). We aim to study the enzymatic activity of bimetallic nanoparticles and compare the reactivity with individual nanoparticles particles prepared via the aqueous foam method. In addition, we would like to study the enzymatic activity of metal oxide on metal system using [email protected] as the model system as it will combine the peroxidase activity of gold with superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity of cerium oxide nanoparticles. This system if successful will be unique as we will be able to demonstrate and create an inorganic nanoparticle system that can show dual enzymatic activity in one system.
SELECTED INTERNATIONAL PUBLICATIONS:
Total Published 60 (Total citation 2018: >1500, h index: 21; Google Scholar)
INVITED TALKS
CONFERENCES / SYMPOSIA / WORKSHOPS/ SEMINAR
Organic Chemistry, General Chemistry, Surface Science & Nanotechnology
Consultancy: ITC Life Science, Bangalore