Tailored Thermal and Mechanical Performance of Biodegradable PLA-P(VDF-TrFE) Polymer Blends G. Suresh, B. Satyanarayna, C. Thirmal, Kaushal Jagarlamudi, T. Komala, et al. Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 2026 The development of polymer blends has emerged as a strategic approach for designing multifunctional materials with enhanced tailored characteristics. Current work investigates and reports the structure–property relationships in free‐standing blend films of poly(vinylidene fluoride‐trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF‐TrFE)) and polylactic acid (PLA), prepared to evaluate their suitability for functional applications. For this investigation, films of nearly 40 μm thick were fabricated by systematically varying the P(VDF‐TrFE):PLA ratio. Thermal analysis revealed a higher PLA crystallinity at 25% P(VDF‐TrFE) content, while Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy showed the electroactive β‐phase fraction to be highest in the 50:50 composition. These findings correlated with tensile strength measurements and morphology, demonstrating that molecular ordering and phase distribution significantly influence the mechanical performance. The 25:75 blend exhibited superior mechanical strength due to enhanced PLA crystallization and polymer chain alignment. In contrast, the 50:50 blend achieved a balance between tensile strength and electroactive phase development, marking it a promising candidate for sensors and 3D printing applications. At higher P(VDF‐TrFE) content, reduced crystallinity in PLA resulted in softer, more compliant films which would be suitable for flexible electronic applications. These results establish a pathway to tune mechanical and functional properties in semicrystalline polymer blends through facile compositional control.
Nonlinearity and Domain Switching in a 3D-Printed Architected Ferroelectric Abhijit Pramanick, Chaimae Babori, Frédéric Albertini, Frederik Holm Gjørup, Aurore Brézard Oudot, et al. Advanced Engineering Materials, 2025 Recent advances in 3D printing have enabled fabrication of architected functional ceramics with tunable functionalities at reduced weight and cost. An essential cornerstone of materials design is to determine structure–property relations. For polycrystalline ferroelectrics, such relationships can be complex due to several microscopic mechanisms, such as lattice strains and/or domain switching, which show nonlinear dependence on external stimuli and are furthermore dependent on grain orientations. For architected materials, these microscopic mechanisms can also be spatially nonuniform. Herein, the development of appropriate methodology is entailed to correlate functional properties of architected ferroelectrics with spatial‐ and orientation‐resolved microscopic mechanisms. Herein, using in situ orientation‐resolved X‐ray microdiffraction, it is shown that nonlinear polarization and strain responses in a 3D‐printed architected ferroelectric are driven by localized progression of non‐180° domain switching, which depends not only on the internal distribution of electric‐field lines but also on the evolving long‐range stress fields resulting from inhomogeneous domain‐switching transformation strains. In this current study, it is indicated that nonlinear behavior in architected ferroelectrics can be effectively tuned by appropriate design of sample geometry, which controls the internal electric‐field distribution in the material.
Thermoelectric Properties of High-Entropy Wolframite Oxide: (CoCuNiFeZn)1−xGaxWO4 Ashutosh Kumar, Adrien Moll, Mouhamad Navid Mouhamadsiradjoudine, François Brisset, David Berardan, et al. Physica Status Solidi Rapid Research Letters, 2024 Herein, the synthesis of high‐entropy wolframite oxide (CoCuNiFeZn)1‐xGaxWO4 through standard solid‐state route followed by spark plasma sintering and their structural, microstructural, and thermoelectric (TE) properties are investigated. X‐ray diffraction pattern followed by patterns matching refinement shows a monoclinic structure with the volume of the unit cell decreasing with increasing Ga content. The optical bandgap for these oxides shows a cocktail effect in high‐entropy configuration. The Seebeck coefficient indicates electrons as dominating charge carriers with a nondegenerate behavior. The electrical resistivity decreases with increasing temperature depicting a semiconducting nature. Thermal conductivity in high‐entropy samples (κ ≈ 2.1 W m−1 K−1 @ 300 K) is significantly lower as compared to MgWO4 (κ ≈ 11.5 W m−1 K−1 @ 300 K), which can be explained by the strong phonon scattering due to large lattice disorder in high‐entropy configuration. The TE figure of merit zT increases with Ga doping via modifying all three TE parameters positively.
Effect of crystal field engineering and Fermi level optimization on thermoelectric properties of Ge1.01Te: Experimental investigation and theoretical insight Ashutosh Kumar, Preeti Bhumla, Duraisamy Sivaprahasam, Saswata Bhattacharya, Nita Dragoe Physical Review Materials, 2023 This study shows a method of enhancing the thermoelectric properties of GeTe-based materials by Ti and Bi co-doping on cation sites along with self-doping with Ge via simultaneous optimization of electronic (via crystal field engineering, and precise Fermi level optimization) and thermal (via point-defect scattering) transport properties. The pristine GeTe possesses high carrier concentration ($n$) due to intrinsic Ge vacancies, low Seebeck coefficient ($\\alpha$), and high thermal conductivity ($\\kappa$). The Ge vacancy optimization and crystal field engineering results in an enhanced $\\alpha$ via excess Ge and Ti doping, which is further improved by band structure engineering through Bi doping. As a result of improved $\\alpha$ and optimized Fermi level (carrier concentration), an enhanced power factor ($\\alpha^2\\sigma$) is obtained for Ti--Bi co-doped Ge$_{1.01}$Te. These experimental results are also evidenced by theoretical calculations of band structure, and thermoelectric parameters using density functional theory and Boltztrap calculations, respectively. A significant reduction in the phonon thermal conductivity ($\\kappa_{ph}$) from $\\sim$ 3.5 W.m$^{-1}$.K$^{-1}$ to $\\sim$ 1.06 W.m$^{-1}$.K$^{-1}$ at 300\\,K for Ti--Bi co-doping in GeTe, attributed to point-defect scattering due to mass and strain field fluctuation, in line with the Debye-Callaway model. The phonon dispersion calculations show a decreasing group velocity in Ti--Bi co-doped GeTe, supporting the obtained reduced $\\kappa_{ph}$. The strategies used in the present study can significantly increase the effective mass, optimize the carrier concentration, and decrease phonon thermal conductivity while achieving an impressive maximum zT value of 1.75 at 773\\,K and average zT (zT$_{av}$) of 1.03 for Ge$_{0.91}$Ti$_{0.02}$Bi$_{0.08}$Te over a temperature range of 300-773\\,K.
Tailored Thermal and Mechanical Performance of Biodegradable PLA‐P (VDF‐TrFE) Polymer Blends G Suresh, B Satyanarayna, C Thirmal, K Jagarlamudi, T Komala, ... Journal of Applied Polymer Science, e70307 , 2026 2026 Citations: 1
Tuning functional properties of 3-D printed ferroelectric ceramics using different architectures A Pramanick, C Babori, F Albertini, FH Gjørup, A Kumar, MRV Jørgensen, ... Journal of the European Ceramic Society, 118025 , 2025 2025 Citations: 1
Magnetocaloric properties of Sb, Ge, and Ga doped AlFe2B2 R Preyadarshini, S Kavita, A Kumar, D Sivaprahasam Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials, 173693 , 2025 2025
Configurational Entropy-Driven Phase Stability and Thermal Transport in Rock-Salt High-Entropy Oxides A Kumar, A Moll, J Kumar, D Dragoe, D Bérardan, N Dragoe arXiv preprint arXiv:2510.09342 , 2025 2025
Nonlinearity and domain switching behavior in different architectures of 3D printed ferroelectric ceramics A Pramanick, C Babori, F Albertini, FH Gjørup, A Kumar, MRV Jørgensen, ... International Symposium on the Applications of Ferroelectrics , 2025 2025
Nonlinearity and Domain Switching in a 3D‐Printed Architected Ferroelectric A Pramanick, C Babori, F Albertini, FH Gjørup, AB Oudot, A Kumar, ... Advanced Engineering Materials 27 (10), 2402104 , 2025 2025 Citations: 1
Dopant-induced structural modifications and thermoelectric properties in Al 1.2 Fe 1.9 M 0.1 B₂ intermetallic borides (M = Ag, Ni, Sb, Ga, Ge) D Sivaprahasam, R Preyadarshini, A Kumar Applied Physics A 131 (4), 318 , 2025 2025 Citations: 3
Localized domain switching and tunable functional properties in 3D printed architected ferroelectric ceramics A Pramanick, C Babori, F Albertini, FH Gjørup, A Kumar, L Daniel, ... Electronic Materials and Applications , 2025 2025
Boosting Thermoelectric Performance in Nanocrystalline Ternary Skutterudite Thin Films through Metallic CoTe 2 Integration B Jarwal, S Abbas, TL Chou, SM Vailyaveettil, A Kumar, S Quadir, TT Ho, ... ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 16 (12), 14770-14780 , 2024 2024 Citations: 2
Thermoelectric Properties of High‐Entropy Wolframite Oxide: (CoCuNiFeZn) 1− x Ga x WO 4 A Kumar, A Moll, MN Mouhamadsiradjoudine, F Brisset, D Berardan, ... physica status solidi (RRL)–Rapid Research Letters 18 (3), 2300372 , 2024 2024 Citations: 8
The concept of the composite thermoelectric materials with attuned electronic structure and mismatched phonon structure (AES-MPS) K Wojciechowski, A Kosonowski, A Kumar, T Parashchuk, A Lis, ... Thermoelectrics , 2023 2023
Effect of crystal field engineering and Fermi level optimization on thermoelectric properties of : Experimental investigation and theoretical insight A Kumar, P Bhumla, D Sivaprahasam, S Bhattacharya, N Dragoe Physical Review Materials 7 (4), 045402 , 2023 2023 Citations: 10
Magnetic and electrical properties of high-entropy rare-earth manganites A Kumar, D Bérardan, D Dragoe, E Riviere, T Takayama, H Takagi, ... Materials Today Physics 32, 101026 , 2023 2023 Citations: 43
Novel entropy-stabilized fluorite oxides with multifunctional properties A Kumar, D Bérardan, F Brisset, D Dragoe, N Dragoe Journal of Materials Chemistry A 11 (26), 14320-14332 , 2023 2023 Citations: 29
Thermoelectric properties of high-entropy rare-earth cobaltates A Kumar, D Dragoe, D Berardan, N Dragoe Journal of Materiomics 9 (1), 191-196 , 2023 2023 Citations: 66
Thermoelectric properties of Sb doped AlFe B D Sivaprahasam, A Kumar, B Jayachandran, R Gopalan arXiv preprint arXiv:2212.01193 , 2022 2022 Citations: 1
Synergistic effect of work function and acoustic impedance mismatch for improved thermoelectric performance in GeTe-WC composite A Kumar, P Bhumla, A Kosonowski, K Wolski, S Zapotoczny, ... ACS applied materials & interfaces 14 (39), 44527-44538 , 2022 2022 Citations: 27
Effect of interface thermal resistance on thermoelectric properties of acoustically mismatched composite A Kumar, KT Wojciechowski Journal of the European Ceramic Society 42 (10), 4227-4232 , 2022 2022 Citations: 18
Decoupled atomic contribution boosted high thermoelectric performance in mixed cation spinel oxides ACo2O4 A Srivastava, M Mukherjee, AK Singh Applied Physics Letters 120 (24) , 2022 2022 Citations: 13
Origin of electrical contact resistance and its dominating effect on electrical conductivity in PbTe/CoSb3 composite A Kosonowski, A Kumar, K Wolski, S Zapotoczny, KT Wojciechowski Journal of the European Ceramic Society 42 (6), 2844-2852 , 2022 2022 Citations: 8
MOST CITED SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS
Thermoelectric properties of high-entropy rare-earth cobaltates A Kumar, D Dragoe, D Berardan, N Dragoe Journal of Materiomics 9 (1), 191-196 , 2023 2023 Citations: 66
Engineering electronic structure and lattice dynamics to achieve enhanced thermoelectric performance of Mn–Sb Co-doped GeTe A Kumar, P Bhumla, T Parashchuk, S Baran, S Bhattacharya, ... Chemistry of Materials 33 (10), 3611-3620 , 2021 2021 Citations: 49
Graphene mediated resistive switching and thermoelectric behavior in lanthanum cobaltate A Kumar, K Kumari, SJ Ray, AD Thakur Journal of Applied Physics 127 (23) , 2020 2020 Citations: 48
Magnetic and electrical properties of high-entropy rare-earth manganites A Kumar, D Bérardan, D Dragoe, E Riviere, T Takayama, H Takagi, ... Materials Today Physics 32, 101026 , 2023 2023 Citations: 43
Improvement of thermoelectric properties of lanthanum cobaltate by Sr and Mn co-substitution A Kumar, D Sivaprahsam, AD Thakur Journal of Alloys and Compounds 735, 1787-1791 , 2018 2018 Citations: 43
Structural and resistive switching behaviour in lanthanum strontium manganite-Reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite system K Kumari, A Kumar, DK Kotnees, J Balakrishnan, AD Thakur, SJ Ray Journal of Alloys and Compounds 815, 152213 , 2020 2020 Citations: 35
Thermoelectric properties of (1-x) LaCoO3. xLa0. 7Sr0. 3MnO3 composite A Kumar, K Kumari, B Jayachandran, D Sivaprahasam, AD Thakur Journal of Alloys and Compounds 749, 1092-1097 , 2018 2018 Citations: 35
Bi2Se3-PVDF composite: A flexible thermoelectric system A Kumar, R Kumar, DK Satapathy Physica B: Condensed Matter 593, 412275 , 2020 2020 Citations: 33
Novel entropy-stabilized fluorite oxides with multifunctional properties A Kumar, D Bérardan, F Brisset, D Dragoe, N Dragoe Journal of Materials Chemistry A 11 (26), 14320-14332 , 2023 2023 Citations: 29
Synergistic effect of work function and acoustic impedance mismatch for improved thermoelectric performance in GeTe-WC composite A Kumar, P Bhumla, A Kosonowski, K Wolski, S Zapotoczny, ... ACS applied materials & interfaces 14 (39), 44527-44538 , 2022 2022 Citations: 27
Charge transport and resistive switching in a 2D hybrid interface K Kumari, A Kumar, AD Thakur, SJ Ray Materials Research Bulletin 139, 111195 , 2021 2021 Citations: 25
Charge transport mechanism and thermoelectric behavior in Te:(PEDOT: PSS) polymer composites A Kumar, M Battabyal, A Chauhan, G Suresh, R Gopalan, NV Ravi Kumar, ... Materials Research Express 6 (11), 115302 , 2019 2019 Citations: 25
Effective thermal conductivity of SrBi4Ti4O15-La0. 7Sr0. 3MnO3 oxide composite: Role of particle size and interface thermal resistance A Kumar, A Kosonowski, P Wyzga, KT Wojciechowski Journal of the European Ceramic Society 41 (1), 451-458 , 2021 2021 Citations: 22
Thermoelectric Properties of (1 − x )LaCoO 3 .( x )La 0.95 Sr 0.05 CoO 3 composite A Kumar, K Kumari, B Jayachandran, D Sivaprahasam, AD Thakur Materials Research Express 6 (5), 055502 , 2019 2019 Citations: 22
Thermal conductivity of PbTe–CoSb 3 bulk polycrystalline composite: role of microstructure and interface thermal resistance A Kosonowski, A Kumar, T Parashchuk, R Cardoso-Gil, KT Wojciechowski Dalton Transactions 50 (4), 1261-1273 , 2021 2021 Citations: 19
Effect of interface thermal resistance on thermoelectric properties of acoustically mismatched composite A Kumar, KT Wojciechowski Journal of the European Ceramic Society 42 (10), 4227-4232 , 2022 2022 Citations: 18
Thermal conductivity of nanostructured Fe0. 04Co0. 96Sb3 skutterudite D Sivaprahasam, SB Chandrasekhar, S Kashyap, A Kumar, R Gopalan Materials Letters 252, 231-234 , 2019 2019 Citations: 18
Magnetothermopower, magnetoresistance and magnetothermal conductivity in La 0.95 Sr 0.05 Co 1− x Mn x O 3 (0.00 ≤ x ≤ 1.00) A Kumar, CV Tomy, AD Thakur Materials Research Express 5 (8), 086110 , 2018 2018 Citations: 16
Decoupled atomic contribution boosted high thermoelectric performance in mixed cation spinel oxides ACo2O4 A Srivastava, M Mukherjee, AK Singh Applied Physics Letters 120 (24) , 2022 2022 Citations: 13
Improved thermoelectric properties in (1-x) LaCoO3/(x) La0. 7Sr0. 3CoO3 composite A Kumar, D Sivaprahasam, AD Thakur Materials Chemistry and Physics 269, 124750 , 2021 2021 Citations: 13