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The Solid State and Structural Chemistry Unit is pleased to host a special seminar by Prof. Pulickel M. Ajayan, Infosys Visiting Chair Professor at SSCU.

Date: Tuesday, 24th February 2026

Time: 2:30 PM

Venue: AV Rama Rao Auditorium, Chemical Sciences Building

Seminar Title: Phases of Carbon-Boron-Nitrogen

Speaker: Prof. Pulickel M. Ajayan

Email: ajayan@rice.edu

Website: https://profiles.rice.edu/faculty/pulickel-ajayan, Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA

Abstract:

The ternary phase space consisting of carbon, boron, and nitrogen shows a number of thermodynamically stable phases of binary and ternary compositions. There has been a significant amount of work in the past on optimizing conditions to grow these phases and understanding their stability. This talk will focus on some of these interesting materials that have compositions of C, BN, CN and BCN. The effort in synthesizing hexagonal as well cubic phases of these compositions will be discussed with the goal of achieving 2D and 3D structures with specific applications in mind.

 

Pulickel M. Ajayan has worked in the area of nanotechnology for nearly three decades. He has published more than 1300 journal papers earning more than 240,000 citations and an h-index of 240 (by google scholar). His work covers diverse areas of nanomaterials including nanoparticles, nanotubes, diamond, 2D materials, nanocomposite, energy storage materials and 3D printing. He is the Benjamin M. and Mary Greenwood Anderson professor of Engineering at Rice University and the founding chair of the department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering. He is the recipient of several awards such as the Spiers memorial award, MRS medal, Alexander von Humboldt-Helmoltz senior award, and lifetime nanotechnology award from the Houston Technology Center. He received Docteur Honoris Causa from the Universite Catholique de of Louvain and distinguished alumni recognition from his Alma Mater Banaras Hindu University and the Materials Science department at Northwestern University.