The Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru.
| Photo Credit: File Photo
Indian Institute of Science (IISc) researchers have developed smart materials which may form the building blocks for next-generation data storage units, quantum processors, and advanced industrial sensors.
These smart materials can change their physical properties in response to light, heat, or mechanical pressure.
Two studies
In two new studies, Abhishek Mondal, an associate professor at the Solid State and Structural Chemistry Unit (SSCU), IISc, and his team have reported the synthesis of novel chemical frameworks — highly porous crystals composed of self-assembling metal-organic layers — capable of reversible magnetic switching.
The first study, published in Angewandte Chemie, a journal of the German Chemical Society, solves a long-standing challenge in materials science: achieving robust magnetic switching in 3D beehive-type porous materials, typically used for gas or liquid sensing.
According to IISc, when a target gas or liquid enters or leaves the material, the crystal lattice in the material expands or contracts, stimulating the atoms to switch their magnetic state.
“In traditional porous materials, however, this expansion/contraction is limited because the push/pull force exerted by an atom within the lattice on its neighbours is absorbed by the pores and is restricted to the vicinity of that atom. This limits the efficiency of these sensors because the material does not switch states as a whole,” IISc said.
New chemical complex
It added that to overcome this challenge, Prof. Mondal and his team designed a new chemical complex that is not only highly porous but also has an elastic matrix.
“We are currently working on scaling up the complex to design smart gas-capture sensors that can selectively adsorb industrially critical gases like CH4, CO, and CO2 with supreme sensitivity,” said Prof. Mondal.
Although such materials can be highly useful for environmental and biological sensing, a major bottleneck has been the temperature at which they can operate.
“Our goal was to synthesise a chemical system that exhibits these transitions near ambient temperatures. Contemporary materials often operate only at ultra-low temperatures — below 50K (-223°C). They are highly volatile and relax back to their ground state with even a slight rise in temperature,” said Krishna Kaushik, PhD student at SSCU and first author of both studies.
To address this limitation, in another study published in Small, the team designed a 2D hexagonal framework that achieves light-, heat-, and solvent-induced magnetic transitions near ambient temperatures.
“Modern data centres and electronic devices consume enormous amounts of energy. Developing alternative materials that operate more efficiently could reduce energy demands and contribute to more sustainable technologies. Similarly, materials capable of acting simultaneously as sensors, switches, and memory elements may simplify device architectures and reduce manufacturing costs,” Prof. Mondal said.
Published – June 29, 2026 07:45 pm IST
