We are delighted to welcome Dr. Prakash Chandra Mondal (Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, India) to the Advisory Board of Journal of Materials Chemistry C.
Dr. Prakash Chandra Mondal received his M.Sc. in Chemistry from IIT Kharagpur in 2008, and Ph.D. from the University of Delhi, India in 2013. He was a post-doctoral fellow at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel (2013-2016), then moved to the University of Alberta, Canada. Before joining IIT Kanpur in 2019, he was a Marie-Curie post-doctoral Fellow at the University of Valencia, Spain. At present, he is an Associate Professor of Chemistry at IIT Kanpur. He works on surface chemistry, electrochromic devices, molecular electronics, and nanofabrication.
Read our interview with Dr. Mondal:
Question: What does it mean to you to join the Advisory Board of the Journal of Materials Chemistry C?
Answer: It is my immense pleasure to join the Advisory Board of the Journal of Materials Chemistry C. This role signifies a meaningful recognition of our teamwork, largely on the ‘molecular electronics’ and provides a valuable opportunity to engage with leading scholars in guiding the journal’s strategic vision. I am committed to supporting the journal’s mission by ensuring the highest standards of scientific rigor and integrity, promoting cutting-edge research, and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration. I look forward to contributing to the advancement of materials chemistry research and helping to maintain the journal’s position as a premier platform for impactful research in optical, electronic, and magnetic materials. Ultimately, it is a valuable opportunity to contribute to the scientific community and help foster emerging research that can drive future technological breakthroughs.
Question: What is the biggest challenge you currently face in your field?
Answer: The success of any research lab often depends on the passion and creativity of its young researchers. Challenges strengthen a field and shape innovative breakthroughs. The biggest challenge in the fabrication of molecular-scale devices lies in the transition from individual molecule measurements to practical, scalable devices. Integrating molecular electronics with existing silicon-based technologies is also a hurdle.
Question: What advances in your field are you most excited about?
Answer: ‘Molecular electronics’ itself is an exciting domain, where molecules mimic conventional electronics. What excites me most is that why molecules behave tunable electronic features and in-depth understanding through the lenses of experimental and computational studies. Engineering the molecule-electrode interface, crucial for the charge transport studies in molecular electronics, by employing an electrochemical grafting method, is a step towards the fabrication of a robust interface. In our laboratory at IIT Kanpur, we prepare molecular thin films via an electrochemical grafting method to create covalent interfaces between electrode-molecules, controlled thickness, and homo to heterostructures. I am also excited about integrating machine learning with molecular memory devices to enable intelligent, adaptive, and predictive electronics systems at the nanoscale and to merge biology with electronics to develop smart and selective biosensors.
Read Dr. Prakash Chandra Mondal’s latest publications in Journal of Materials Chemistry C below:
Magnetic field enhanced charge conduction in paramagnetic nickel(ii)–cysteine heterostructures
Manajit Mandal, Abhik Ghoshal, Ankur Malik and Prakash Chandra Mondal
J. Mater. Chem. C, 2025, Advance Article
Abhik Ghoshal, Rajwinder Kaur, Sanku Sanju, Alok Kumar Singh and Prakash Chandra Mondal
J. Mater. Chem. C, 2025, 13, 7307-7317
“All-organic” electrode materials toward high-performing rigid to flexible supercapacitor devices
Pradeep Sachan, Priyanka Makkar, Ankur Malik and Prakash Chandra Mondal
J. Mater. Chem. C, 2024, 12, 13639-13650
