DESCRIPTION :
Dr. Nirmal Goswami is a Senior Scientist in the Materials Chemistry and Interfacial Engineering Department at the CSIR-Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology (CSIR-IMMT), Bhubaneswar. He holds a B.Sc. and M.Sc. degree from the University of Burdwan, followed by a Ph.D. from the S. N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences (SNBNCBS), Kolkata. Subsequently, he pursued postdoctoral research at the National University of Singapore, where he investigated the fundamental mechanisms of aggregation-induced emission in thiol-protected metal nanoclusters. In 2017, he joined the University of South Australia to advance research on the biomedical applications of metal nanoclusters.
In 2020, Dr. Goswami established the Bio-Inspired Assembly Research Group at CSIR-IMMT, which integrates materials science and biology. His group explores both fundamental and translational aspects of nanomaterials research, particularly bio-inspired self-assembled nanomolecular systems for catalysis and biomedical applications. Notably, his team pioneered the first depletion-driven self-assembly strategy for metal nanoclusters, enabling the formation of thermodynamically stable, self-supported cluster assemblies with broad dispersibility in solvents. These assemblies have demonstrated substantial potential in diverse catalytic processes, including organic photocatalysis. Dr. Goswami has authored 70 peer-reviewed publications, and his work has been cited over 5,200 times, with an h-index of 37 (Google Scholar).
Recognised as one of India’s leading early-career scientists, Dr. Goswami has received numerous prestigious awards and honours. Notably, he was awarded the CSIR Young Scientist Award (2022) in Chemical Sciences, which ranks among the highest accolades for researchers under the age of 35 in India. Furthermore, he has garnered international recognition as an Emerging Investigator by Nanoscale (Royal Society of Chemistry). Additionally, he has held honorary appointments as Honorary Fellow at the Adelaide Dental School, University of Adelaide (2020-2023) and Honorary Research Fellow at UniSA STEM, University of South Australia (2019-2021).
For further details on his research, please refer to his personal webpage (https://csirimmt.wixsite.com/goswamilab).
Google Scholar profile: https://scholar.google.com.sg/citations?user=lNToK_wAAAAJ&hl=en
Current PhD Students:
PhD Completed:
Dr. Debkumar Bera
Goswami Lab (https://csirimmt.wixsite.com/goswamilab) explores bio-inspired strategies to design and self-assemble metal nanoclusters into dynamic, functional materials for applications in catalysis, sensing, and biomedicine. Our research could be broadly classified into four research themes:
Metal Nanoclusters
Development of functional nanoscale materials with unique physical, chemical, and electronic properties has the potential to transform diverse areas of science and technology. Our group focuses on a new class of such materials—metal nanoclusters (NCs)—which have emerged as highly promising due to their atomically precise structures and molecular-like properties, including discrete HOMO–LUMO transitions, strong photoluminescence, chirality, and distinctive redox behavior. With sizes typically below 2 nm, nanoclusters bridge the gap between isolated atoms and larger nanoparticles, making them uniquely suited for both fundamental investigations and practical applications.
Bio-inspired Self-Assembly
Living systems illustrate that complex, multiscale architectures can emerge from simple building blocks when their intrinsic properties guide spontaneous organization. This principle forms the foundation of our research, where we draw inspiration from biological self-assembly to engineer nanocluster-based systems. Nanoclusters, with their atomically precise cores and tailorable surface functionalities, provide versatile building blocks that can mimic the adaptive, dynamic behaviors observed in natural assemblies.
Catalysis
Our lab focuses on developing nanocluster-based photocatalysts by harnessing the unique molecule-like properties of gold nanoclusters (AuNCs). We design self-assembled superstructures that improve charge separation, stabilize photogenerated electrons, and enhance visible-light absorption for efficient photocatalysis. By integrating electron-trapping components such as polyoxometalates or conductive polymer matrices, we overcome the limitations of ultra-small AuNCs and unlock their potential as primary photocatalysts. This strategy enables applications ranging from small-molecule transformations to hydrogen evolution, establishing gold nanoclusters as a versatile platform for sustainable photocatalysis.
Biomedical Applications
Metal nanoclusters are emerging as powerful tools in biomedical research due to their ultrasmall size, tunable surface chemistry, and unique optical properties. In our lab, we focus on gold, silver, and copper nanoclusters for applications in antimicrobial therapy, anti-inflammatory treatment, and wound healing. These nanoclusters act as bioactive agents capable of modulating cellular pathways while maintaining excellent biocompatibility. A key direction of our work is the design of nanoclusters and their assemblies that regulate reactive oxygen species to restore cellular balance. Through this approach, we aim to develop next-generation nanomedicines that accelerate healing and prevent infection.
AWARDS & HONOURS :Selected Publications from CSIR IMMT:
Sukhendu Mahata, Tarun Kumar Dinda, Satya Ranjan Sahoo, Nabarun Polley, Dinesh Topwal, Prasenjit Mal*, and Nirmal Goswami*, Organic Photocatalysis by in situ Polymerized Gold Nanocluster-Polydopamine Networks, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2025, 17, 43, 59410.
Satya Ranjan Sahoo, Tarun Kumar Dinda, Sumit Saha, Prasenjit Mal*, and Nirmal Goswami*, Maneuvering the Electronic State and Active Site of Assembled-Gold Nanoclusters through Polyoxometalate Implantation for Heterogeneous Green-Light Photocatalysis, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2025, 17, 13, 19669.
Sukhendu Mahata, Satya Ranjan Sahoo, Arun Mukhopadhyay, Komal Kumari, Surajit Rakshit, and Nirmal Goswami*, Tailoring the Photoluminescence of AIE-Type Gold Nanoclusters via Biomineralization-Inspired Polymorphism, Nanoscale (Invited), 2025, 17, 823-832.
Debkumar Bera, Sukhendu Mahata, Maitrayee Biswas, Komal Kumari, Surajit Rakshit, Nonappa, Srabanti Ghosh, and Nirmal Goswami*, Efficient Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production Using In-situ Polymerized Gold Nanocluster Assemblies, Small, 2025, 21, 2406551.
Satya Ranjan Sahoo, Arun Mukhopadhyay, Sukhendu Mahata, Komal Kumari, N. V. S. Praneeth, Ananya Baksi, Saumyakanti Khatua, Sumit Saha, Surajit Rakshit, and Nirmal Goswami*, Unravelling Structural Insights into Ligand-Induced Photoluminescence Mechanisms of Sulfur Dots, Nanoscale, 2024, 16, 18494-18503.
Arun Mukhopadhyay, Sukhendu Mahata and Nirmal Goswami*, Molecular Packing-Driven Manipulation of Aggregation Induced Emission in Gold Nanoclusters, The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 2024, 15, 8510-8519.
Arun Mukhopadhyay, Satya Ranjan Sahoo, Sukhendu Mahata and Nirmal Goswami*, Strategic framework for harnessing luminescent metal nanocluster assemblies in biosensing applications, Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry (Invited), 2024, 416, 3963-3974.
Debkumar Bera, Arun Mukhopadhyay, Nonappa, and Nirmal Goswami*, In Situ Depletion-Guided Engineering of Nanoshell-like Gold Nanocluster Assemblies with Enhanced Peroxidase-like Nanozyme Activity, The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 2023, 14, 7299-7305.
Satya Ranjan Sahoo, Debkumar Bera, Sumit Saha, and Nirmal Goswami*, Switchable Catalysis and CO2 Sensing by Reduction Resistant, Luminescent Copper-Thiolate Complexes, Nanoscale (Invited), 2022, 14, 18051-18059.
Debkumar Bera, Mousumi Baruah, Asish Dehury, Animesh Samanta, Yatendra S. Chaudhary, and Nirmal Goswami*, Depletion Driven Assembly of Ultrasmall Metal Nanoclusters: From Kinetically Arrested Assemblies to Thermodynamically Stable, Spherical Superclusters, The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 2022, 13, 9411-9421.
Hanif Haidari, Richard Bright, Zlatko Kopecki, Peter Zilm, Sanjay Garg, Allison J. Cowin, Krasimir Vasilev and Nirmal Goswami*, Polycationic Silver Nanoclusters Comprising Nanoreservoirs of Ag+-Ions with High Antimicrobial and Antibiofilm Activity, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2021, 14, 390–403.
Debkumar Bera, and Nirmal Goswami*, Driving Forces and Routes for Aggregation Induced Emission-Based Highly Luminescent Metal Nanocluster Assembly, The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters (Invited Perspective), 2021, 12, 9033-9046.
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