Rudra is a Higher Scientist working in the area of interfacial electrochemistry and catalysis. His work focuses on developing operando spectroscopic methods for characterising electrochemical energy conversion and storage systems.
Biography
Rudra completed his undergraduate degree at Presidency College, Calcutta (India) before moving to the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore (India) for an integrated MS-PhD in Chemical Sciences. His doctoral research, conducted under the supervision of Prof Aninda J. Bhattacharyya at the Solid State and Structural Chemistry Unit, IISc, focused on the electrochemistry and spectroscopy of heme-based biomolecules.
Rudra’s subsequent work as a post-doctoral research associate at IISc involved studying redox mediators in metal-air batteries and electron transport across biomolecules immobilized on conducting substrates. In November 2020, Rudra moved to the UK to join a University of Strathclyde-NPL collaborative project as a post-doctoral research associate, studying new electrolytes for magnesium-ion batteries. Following this appointment, Rudra joined NPL as a Higher Research Scientist in August 2021.
Areas of interest
Rudra’s research broadly concerns the study of the structure and dynamics of electrochemical systems. He is particularly interested in designing in situ and operando experiments for studying electrochemical interfaces, using both benchtop and synchrotron/neutron-based spectroscopic techniques. Recently he has begun to channel his interest in electrochemistry towards understanding energy storage materials, particularly for post-lithium batteries.
His current work at NPL involves developing capability for operando spectroelectrochemical measurements involving Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), Raman, and other spectroscopic tools.
Email Rudra Samajdar
Selected Publications
1. Structure-Redox Response Correlation in a Few Select Heme Systems Using X-Ray Absorption Spectroelectrochemistry, R.N. Samajdar, A.J. Bhattacharyya, J. Phys. Chem. B 125, 5258-5264 (2021)
2. Hemoglobin Dynamics in Solution vis-à-vis Under Confinement: An Electrochemical Perspective, R.N. Samajdar, G. Asampille, H.S. Atreya, A.J. Bhattacharyya, J. Phys. Chem. B 124, 5771-5779 (2020)
3. Using Hemoglobin as a Performance Enhancer in Rechargeable Lithium-Oxygen Batteries, R.N. Samajdar, S.M. George, A.J. Bhattacharyya, J. Phys. Chem. C 123, 23433-23438 (2019)
4. Using porphyrin–amino acid pairs to model the electrochemistry of heme proteins: experimental and theoretical investigations, R.N. Samajdar, D. Manogaran, S. Yashonath, A.J. Bhattacharyya, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys 20, 10018-10029 (2018)