DESCRIPTION :

Dr. Simantini Nayak joined CSIR-IMMT in June 2020 as a Scientist. Her research here focuses towards development of novel nanostructured for energy generation and energy storage, 2D heterostructured materials for hyrogen evolution, CO2 reduction  and understanding of surface reactions and cell degradation mechanisms at electrode/electrolyte interfaces by using electrochemical and spectroscopic techniques. Informal enquiries from interested candidates regarding possible research positions in the group are always welcome.

Dr. Simantini Nayak has pursued her PhD in Chemistry from Max-Planck Institute for Iron Research GmbH (MPIE), Dusseldorf, Germany. Her doctoral thesis was based on investigation of electrochemical oxygen reduction on semiconductor surfaces by attenuated total internal reflection infrared spectroscopy. After completion of her PhD, she has joined as a postdoc at Department of Chemitry, University of Oxford, UK where she has been awarded with Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Individual Fellow (MSCA-IF) from European Commission. Dr. Nayak has also over a year of industrial experience in a Carbon-Ion based Supercapacitor company, ZapGo Ltd., UK prior joining at IMMT. She has recieved her M.Sc. in Chemistry from National Institute of Technology; NIT Rourkela, India and B.Sc. in Chemistry from B. J. B. Autonomous College, Utkal University, India.

For more information regarding her ongoing research, please visit her research group's webpage.

06/2020 - to date: Scientist at CSIR - Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology (IMMT), Bhubaneswar

10/2018 – 11/2019: Research Scientist at ZapGo Ltd., Harwell Campus, Oxford, UK

04/2015 - 08/2017: Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Individual Fellow (MSCA-IF) at University of Oxford, Department of Chemistry, UK

01/2015 - 03/2015: Research Scientist at Johnson Matthey Technology Centre, Sonning Common, Reading, UK

11/2013 - 03/2015: Postdoctoral Research Associate at University of Oxford, Department of Chemistry, UK

04/2013 - 08/2013: Postdoctoral Fellow at Max-Planck Institute for Iron Research GmbH (MPIE), Dusseldorf, Germany

• Designing of two-dimensional heterostructures materials for hydrogen generation and carbon dioxide reduction 
• Development and electrochemical testing of novel energy storage materials (i.e. supercapacitors and pseudocapacitors) in aqueous and non-aqueous media
• Materials development, characterisation and electrochemical testing for fuel cell applications
• In situ and operando spectroscopic techniques (Infrared and Raman) for mechanistic investigation of interface processes
• Electrocatalysis

2015-2017: Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Individual Fellow (MSCA-IF) from European Commission at University of Oxford, Department of Chemistry, UK

2009-2012: PhD Scholarship under International Max Planck Research School of Surface and Interface Science (IMPRS-SurMat) program, Germany

2009: National Eligibility Test for Lectureship (UGC-CSIR), India

2007: Summer internship under Visiting Students Research Program (VSRP) at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai, India

1997: National Research Talent Search Scholarship (NRTSS), India in class 7th

Adduct-based p-doping of organic semiconductors; N. Sakai, R. Warren, F. Zhang, S. Nayak, J. Liu, S. V. Kesava, Y.-H. Lin, H. S. Biswal, X. Lin, C. Grovenor, T. Malinauskas, A. Basu, T. D. Anthopoulos, V. Getautis, A. Kahn, M. Riede, P. K. Nayak, H. J. Snaith; Nature Materials, 2021 (20)1248–1254  

Adsorbed intermediates in oxygen reduction on platinum nanoparticles observed by in situ IR spectroscopy; S. Nayak*, I. J McPherson, K. A Vincent*; Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2018 (57) 12855-12858 (First and Co-corresponding author) Nominated as Hot article

Vibrational spectroscopic study of pH dependent solvation at an Ge(100)-water interface during an electrode potential triggered surface termination transition; F. Niu, M. Rabe, S. Nayak, A. Erbe; Journal of Chemical Physics, 2018 (148) 222824

Solution-Processed Cesium Hexabromopalladate(IV), Cs2PdBr6, for Optoelectronic Applications; N. Sakai, A. A. Haghighirad, M. R. Filip, P. K. Nayak, S. Nayak, A. Ramadan, Z. Wang, F. Giustino, H. J. Snaith; Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2017 (139) 6030-3033

Book Chapter: How to probe structure, kinetics and dynamics at complex interfaces in situ and operando by optical spectroscopy. Encyclopedia of Interfacial Chemistry: Surface Science and Electrochemistry; part of "Reference Module in Chemistry, Molecular Sciences and Chemical Engineering" (2017), Elsevier, Waltham, MA, USA, ISBN: 978-0-12-409547-2 A. Erbe, S. Nayak, Y.-H. Chen, F. Niu, M. Pander, S. Tecklenburg, C. Toparli

10-nm deep, sub-nanoliter fluidic nanochannels on Germanium for attenuated total reflection Infrared (ATR-IR) spectroscopy; K. K. Sriram#, S. Nayak#, S. Pengel#, C.-F. Chou, A. Erbe; Analyst, 2017 (142) 273-278 (# : Equal contributions of authors)

Edge Enriched 2D MoS2 Porous Thin Films Grown by Chemical Vapor Deposition for Enhanced Catalytic Performance; S. Li, S. Wang, M. M. Salamone, A. W. Robertson, S. Nayak, H. Kim, S.C E. Tsang, M. Pasta, J. H. Warner; ACS Catalysis, 2017 (7) 877-886

Tunable Metal-Polyaniline Interface for Efficient Carbon Dioxide Electro-reduction to Formic acid and Methanol in Aqueous Solution; W. Zheng, S. Nayak, W. Yuan, Z. Zeng, X. Hong, K. A. Vincent, S. C. E. Tsang; Chemical Communication, 2016 (52) 13901-13904

Revealing the mechanism for rapid growth of organic-inorganic halide perovskite crystals; P. K. Nayak#, D. T. Moore#, B. Wenger, S. Nayak, A. A. Haghighirad, A. Fineberg, N. K. Noel, O. G. Reid, G. Rumbles, P. Kukura, K. A. Vincent, H. J. Snaith; Nature Communication, 2016, (7) 13303 (# : Equal contributions of authors)

Mechanism of potential-triggered surface transformation of germanium in acidic medium studied by ATR-IR spectroscopy; S. Nayak, A. Erbe; Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 2016 (18) 25100-25109

Synchrotron-based Infrared Microanalysis of Biological Redox Processes under Electrochemical Control; P. Ash, H. Reeve, J. Quinson, R. Hidalgo, T. Zhu, I. J. McPherson, M.-W. Chung, A. Healy, S. Nayak, T. Lonsdale, K. Wehbe, C. Kelley, M. Frogley, G. Cinque, K. A. Vincent; Analytical Chemistry, 2016 88(13) 6666-6671

Electrochemical characterization of direct electron uptake in electrical microbially influenced corrosion of iron by the lithoautotrophic SRB Desulfopila corrodens strain IS4; P. F. Beese-Vasbender, S. Nayak, A. Erbe, M. Stratmann, K. J.J. Mayrhofer; Electrochimica Acta, 2015 (167) 321-329

In situ infrared spectroscopic investigation of intermediates in the electrochemical oxygen reduction on n-Ge(100) in alkaline perchlorate and chloride electrolyte; S. Nayak, P. U. Biedermann, M. Stratmann, A. Erbe; Electrochimica Acta, 2013 (106) 472-482

A mechanistic study of the electrochemical oxygen reduction on the model semiconductor n-Ge(100) by ATR-IR and DFT; S. Nayak, P. U. Biedermann, M. Stratmann, A. Erbe; Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 2013 (15) 5771-5781 (Cover Article)

An Investigation on the Effect of Morphologies on Corrosion Behaviour of Nanostructured Hydroxyapatite-Titania Scaffolds; S. Nayak, K. K. Nanda, P. C. Rath, S. Bhattacharjee, Y. S. Chaudhary; Journal of Bionanoscience, 2010 (4) 87-91

Facile synthesis of nanostructured hydroxyapatite-titania bio-implant scaffolds with different morphologies: their bioactivity and corrosion behaviour; S. Nayak, A. Dhawan, B. Satpati, S. Bhattacharjee, Y. S. Chaudhary; Journal of Materials Chemistry, 2010 (20) 4949-4954

Facile Synthesis of Monodisperse Ultra-small Ceria Nanocrystals at Room Temperature and Its Catalytic Activity Under Visible Light; Y. S. Chaudhary, S. Panigrahi, S. Nayak, B. Satpati, S. Bhattacharjee, N. Kulkarni, Journal of Materials Chemistry, 2010 (20) 2381-2385