Rakesh Agrawal

About

Professor Rakesh Agrawal leads a research group at Purdue University's Davidson School of Chemical Engineering, focusing on solar energy, energy systems, and separations. His work prominently features the development and synthesis of chalcogenide perovskites and related materials for applications in inorganic thin film photovoltaics. The group has made significant contributions to the understanding and fabrication of BaZrS3 and other BaMS3 (M=Ti, Zr, Hf) materials, advancing the field of earth-abundant, functional materials for solar energy conversion. Professor Agrawal's research integrates experimental and modeling approaches to optimize energy-efficient processes and materials, as evidenced by his involvement in publications and patents related to solar energy systems and separations. He has been recognized for his mentorship and scholarly achievements, including receiving the CISTAR Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award in 2025. His collaborative work spans international partnerships and interdisciplinary studies, contributing to advancements in photovoltaic materials, energy systems modeling, and sustainable chemical engineering solutions.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Engineering
• Mathematics
• Machine Learning
• Psychology
• Social psychology
• Political Science
• Artificial Intelligence
• Social Science
• Knowledge management

Selected publications

• Indium–Tin-Oxide Transistors with One Nanometer Thick Channel and Ferroelectric Gating

  ACS Nano · 2020 · 116 citations

  . The ITO transistor with a recessed channel and ferroelectric gating demonstrates several advantages over 2D semiconductor transistors and other thin-film transistors, including large-area wafer-size nanometer thin-film formation, low contact resistance and contact resistivity, an atomic thin channel being immune to short channel effects, large gate modulation of high carrier density by ferroelectric gating, high-quality gate dielectric and passivation formation, and a large bandgap for the low…

  DOI

• Systematic Analysis Reveals Thermal Separations Are Not Necessarily Most Energy Intensive

  Joule · 2020 · 45 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  DOI

• From synthesis to application: a review of BaZrS₃ chalcogenide perovskites

  Nanoscale · 2025-01-01 · 37 citations

  reviewOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  , discussing their synthesis methods, properties, and explored applications, thereby offering a comparative perspective on this emerging family of chalcogenide perovskites.

  PublisherDOI

• Advances in distillation: Significant reductions in energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions for crude oil separation

  Joule · 2022 · 29 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  DOI

• A reliable, colloidal synthesis method of the orthorhombic chalcogenide perovskite, BaZrS ₃ , and related ABS ₃ nanomaterials (A = Sr, Ba; B = Ti, Zr, Hf): a step forward for earth-abundant, functional materials

  Chemical Science · 2024-12-11 · 16 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Chalcogenide perovskites have become of interest for their increased stability, compared to their halide counterparts, and potential optoelectronic properties. A reliable colloidal method is presented here for BaZrS 3 and related ABS 3 nanomaterials.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• EFRI-HyBi: Maximizing Conversion of Biomass Carbon to Liquid Fuel

  NSF · $2.0M · 2009–2014

• INFEWS/T2: Solar Solutions for Food, Energy and Water Systems (S2FEWS)

  NSF · $2.5M · 2019–2025

• Collaborative Research: NRT-INFEWS: Sustainable Food, Energy, and Water Systems (SFEWS)

  NSF · $2.5M · 2017–2023

Frequent coauthors

• Philip S. Yu

  University of Illinois Chicago

  244 shared

• Vipin Kumar

  244 shared

• Rao Kotagiri

  University of Melbourne

  243 shared

• Xin Yao

  82 shared

• Xin Li Yao

  81 shared

• Xin Yao

  Southern Medical University

  81 shared

• Mohit Tawarmalani

  Purdue University West Lafayette

  42 shared

• Yoshiaki Kawajiri

  36 shared

Labs

• Rakesh Agrawal Research GroupPI

  Purdue University – Davidson School of Chemical Engineering

Education

• Dotor of Sceince, Chemical Engineering

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  1980

• M. Che., Chemical Engineering

  University of Delaware

  1977

• B. Tech., Chemical Engineering

  Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur

  1975

Similar researchers at Purdue University

• Stephen Beaudoinh-32
• Xiaoping Baoh-26
• David Bernal Neirah-2