Dr Aruna Ivaturi

Senior Lecturer

Pure and Applied Chemistry

Personal statement

I am EPSRC Fellow, Chancellor’s Fellow and Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) leading the Smart Materials Research and Device Technology (SMaRDT) Group at Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde. I am Strathclyde's Energy Sub-Theme (Photovoltaics) coordinator. I am one of the founding PI of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Sustainable Practices of Research in Energy (C-INSPRE) , a new and innovative interdisciplinary Strathclyde Centre for Doctoral Training (SCDT) that links all four faculties of the University of Strathclyde. C-INSPRE is Strathclyde's first 'Energy CDT'

I have made important scientific and technological contributions – for example, switchable coatings for energy saving windows, materials and devices for sensing technologies, solar energy conversion, solar photocatalyst and dye-sensitised electrochromic devices. Over the last years my main research focus has been in the development of novel materials and devices for solar energy conversion especially the emerging new PV technologies (Spectral conversion, Dye sensitised and Perovskite solar cells). Recently, I have been awarded the EPSRC Fellowship (funding of ~ £1.1 Million) to develop the challenging field of Elastic Perovskite PV research in the UK.

The principal research interests of my (SMaRDT) group lie in the synthesis of nanomaterials, development, fabrication and optimisation of devices based on them for energy, environment and healthcare sectors. Please see under the Research (Research Interests) section for further details.

 If you are an outstanding and enthusiastic individual interested  in PhD/Post-doc or in short term (e.g ERASMUS, Commonwealth etc) projects in the SMaRDT group to contribute to the challenging sectors mentioned under the Research Areas (and key words) then please send in your CV.

Publications

Investigation on guanidinium bromide incorporation in methylammonium lead iodide for enhanced efficiency and stability of perovskite solar cells
Gandhi Mano Balaji, Valluvar Oli Arivazhagan, Nicholson Stefan, Adelt Milan, Martin Robert, Chen Yu, Sridharan Moorthy Babu, Ivaturi Aruna
Solar Energy Vol 253, pp. 1-8 (2023)
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2023.01.026
Scalable slot-die coated flexible supercapacitors from upcycled PET face shields
Reddygunta Kiran Kumar Reddy, Callander Andrew, Šiller Lidija, Faulds (She/Her) Karen, Berlouis Leonard, Ivaturi Aruna
RSC Advances (2022)
Near-ultraviolet indoor black light-harvesting perovskite solar cells
Valluvar Oli Arivazhagan, Li Zinuo, Chen Yu, Ivaturi Aruna
ACS Applied Energy Materials (2022)
https://doi.org/10.1021/acsaem.2c01560
Sono-exfoliated graphene-like activated carbon from hazelnut shells for flexible supercapacitors
Reddygunta Kiran Kumar Reddy, Callander Andrew, Šiller Lidija, Faulds Karen, Berlouis Leonard, Ivaturi Aruna
International Journal of Energy Research Vol 46, pp. 16512-16537 (2022)
https://doi.org/10.1002/er.8314
Cost-effective dyes based on low-cost donors and Pd-free synthesis for dye-sensitized solar cells
Jarusarunchai Artit, Valluvar Oli Arivazhagan, Ivaturi Aruna, Robertson Neil
Solar RRL Vol 6 (2022)
https://doi.org/10.1002/solr.202200375
MoSe 2-modified ZIF-8 novel nanocomposite for photocatalytic remediation of textile dye and antibiotic-contaminated wastewater
Mittal Honey, Ivaturi Aruna, Khanuja Manika
Environmental Science and Pollution Research (2022)
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-22487-x

More publications

Research interests

Smart Materials Research and Device Technology (SMaRDT) Group is presently working on multidisciplinary projects in the following sectors:

a) Energy (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, EPSRC funded project)Elastic Perovskite Solar Cells, in collaborations with industry (Shadow Robots, G24 Power, NSG Pilkington and Dupont Teijin Films) and academia [University of Edinburgh, Oxford University and Johannes Kepler University]

b) Environment (UK-India Education and Research Initiative, UKIERI funded project)Biosorbants and Photocatalysts for Waste Water Remediation in collaboration with Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati, India and Waste Water Treatment Plant IIT Guwahati.

c) Healthcare (Royal Academy of Engineering, RAE funded project): Wearable Glucose Sensors in collaboration with Manchester Metropolitan University, University of Science Malaysia and University of Namibia and University Hospital at University of Sciences Malaysia.

  If you are an outstanding and enthusiastic individual interested  in PhD/Post-doc in the SMaRDT group to contribute to these challenging sectors (and Research Areas mentioned) then please send in your CV and publications. 

  Dr. Aruna Ivaturi has strong track record of getting funding via fellowships. If you are interested in applying for a fellowship (doctoral/postdoctoral) to work in SMaRDT group, then please drop an email. Information about the various postdoc fellowship opportunities can be found via following links:

 

Professional activities

“Emergence of a new-era of near-UV indoor light Harvesting” - Black Light Harvesting Perovskite Solar Cells
Invited speaker
16/3/2023
Climate Education (Fresk) Workshop for EACU Scotland Conference 2023
Organiser
8/2/2023
Tapping the Invisible - Upconversion for enhancing the IR response of Bifacial Si Solar Cells
Keynote speaker
7/12/2022
Climate Education workshop
Speaker
11/11/2022
Smart Materials Research and Device Technology (SMaRDT) Group's Energy Research towards Net Zero
Speaker
3/11/2022
Facilitation of Climate Fresk workshop for 2YR UG course in PAC
Recipient
17/10/2022

More professional activities

Projects

Engineering equity in STEM employment
Essex, Jane (Principal Investigator) Hendry, Martyn (Principal Investigator) Cunningham, Margaret Rose (Principal Investigator) Ivaturi, Aruna (Principal Investigator) Wang, Yirui (Principal Investigator) McQuilken, Natasha (Principal Investigator)
The project considered how to enhance the sustainability and resilience of the STEM workforce in the twenty-first century. The opportunity to engage in meaningful work enhances individual health and well-being, as well as enhancing social cohesion and economic prosperity. Specifically, the project considered how technical expertise in industry and academia can be shared with people who are hugely under-represented in the STEM workforce despite their evident capabilities and interest in STEM. The scheme builds upon a highly successful STEM for sustainability summer school that ran last summer and will involve researchers who attended last year, along with others who expressed an interest in joining the project, plus pupils from South Ayrshire schools who have ASN. In addition, the scheme involved regional STEM employers, giving them a chance to develop their understanding of the capacities of diverse young people and their potential to contribute positively to their organisations.
01-Jan-2022 - 31-Jan-2023
Sustainable impact by design: a pilot study of effective STEM dissemination for hard-to-reach audiences
Gonzalez-Longo, Cristina (Co-investigator) Essex, Jane (Principal Investigator) Hendry, Martyn (Co-investigator) Cunningham, Margaret Rose (Co-investigator) Giovelli, Noemi (Post Grad Student) Ivaturi, Aruna (Co-investigator) Li, Rui (Co-investigator) Maddock, Christie (Co-investigator) Somorin, Tosin (Co-investigator) Yue, Hong (Co-investigator) Egea Alvarez, Agusti (Co-investigator)
STEM Equals + RKES funded project
01-Jan-2021 - 31-Jan-2023
Visible light photocatalysis for remediation of crude oil contaminated water
Ivaturi, Aruna (Principal Investigator) OGOH-ORCH, Blessing (Research Co-investigator)
01-Jan-2021 - 31-Jan-2021
Printable Supercapacitors from Biomass Feedstock
Ivaturi, Aruna (Principal Investigator)
01-Jan-2021 - 31-Jan-2021
Doctoral Training Partnership 2020-2021 University of Strathclyde | Nicholson, Stefan
Ivaturi, Aruna (Principal Investigator) Martin, Robert (Co-investigator) Nicholson, Stefan (Research Co-investigator)
01-Jan-2020 - 01-Jan-2024
Photocatalytic treatment of crude oil contaminants in water
Ivaturi, Aruna (Principal Investigator) OGOH-ORCH, Blessing (Post Grad Student)
Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) Scholarship £69,050.0
01-Jan-2020 - 01-Jan-2023

More projects