Dr. Sumit Bhattacharya is a Materials Scientist in the Chemical and Fuel Cycle (CFC) division at Argonne National Laboratory. He is part of the Advanced Fuels and Materials group under the department of Fuel Development and Qualification (FDQ) group at Argonne. His primary research focus has been in the field of surface science/surface modifications to understand and generate thin film coatings for diverse nuclear applications.

Dr. Bhattacharya has been helping develop various successful coatings specifically designed for nuclear fuel and its cladding to function as a barrier against metal and oxygen diffusion. To generate these single and tailored multilayer coatings for use as diffusion barriers against metals, he has used techniques such as atomic layer deposition (ALD), physical vapor deposition (PVD), and electrochemical deposition methods. Multilayer coatings have been primarily designed to survive extreme thermal cycling while remaining inside a nuclear environment. He has also applied the coating technique of corroding mediums within a high temperature nuclear environment.

Dr. Bhattacharya has been collaborating with researchers both from CFC as well as the Nuclear Science and Engineering division at Argonne to implement these coatings in projects involving both private and public partners. His research also focuses on developing techniques involving electrophoretic/electrochemical depositions, from which he has successfully developed methods to generate thicker ceramic/metal films and composite coatings.

Dr. Bhattacharya is a current participant in Argonne’s Launchpad Program, designed to provide motivated early- and mid-career researchers with enhanced training and mentoring for developing multimillion-dollar sponsored research programs. He has been inducted in the Launchpad group called ​“Material Innovations to Advance High-performance Nuclear Microreactors Development” for his expertise in the surface science field. As part of the Launchpad Program, his team is developing and promoting designs to enable next-generation nuclear microreactors through cutting-edge material innovations and to efficiently commercialize these solutions while accelerating proof-of-concept of these innovations to attract more industry interests. Dr. Bhattacharya’s primary role on the team will be to design and develop materials (e.g., coatings) tuned for very high temperature nuclear applications to protect the base materials, which can range from heat exchangers to moderators and heat pipes.

Education

• Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering — Northwestern University, 2017

• B.S. in Metallurgy and Materials Engineering — Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur (India), 2012

Select Honors

• Argonne National Laboratory Impact Award for establishing and moving a nuclear materials coating facility, which helped scale up and handle a larger volume of materials and reduce the Laboratory’s operational costs, 2021
• Argonne National Laboratory Impact Award for establishing a physical vapor deposition facility, which will allow for the handling and development of coating process techniques for nuclear applications, 2021
• Cohort 6 Selectee of Argonne’s Launchpad Program, 2021
• Argonne National Laboratory Pacesetter Award for Dr. Bhattacharya’s research contribution performed for his doctoral degree for achieving and supporting fuel development by application of ALD coating of ZrN over U-Mo dispersion fuel elements (limit radiation-enhanced diffusion and swelling) candidate for the conversion of high-enriched uranium fueled high flux research reactors to the use of low-enriched uranium, 2016
• The Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society (TMS) extraction and processing Division Technology Award for Dr. Bhattacharya’s co-authored team paper, ​“A Study on the Effect of Pulse Electrodeposition Parameters on the Morphology of Pure Tin Coatings,” 2015
• First Prize in paper presentation at the National Metallurgist Day Annual Technical Meeting, an international symposium organized by Indian Institute of Metals, 2009

Patents (Granted/Filed)

• Yacout, A.; Bhattacharya, S.; Pellin M. ​“High Density Composite Material Using a Hybrid Deposition Technique.” US10392697B2. (Status: Granted).
• Yacout, A.; Bhattacharya, S. ​“A Method for Nano Powder Loading into Micro-capability Mold Using Colloidal Bath Aided with Ultrasonic Wave Propagation.” US20200101532A1. (Status: Pending).
• Bhattacharya, S.; Yacout, A. ​“Preparation of Coated Fuel Pellets via ALD.” Filed for U.S. patent. (USPTO on August 6, 2020, as application #16/986,180).
• Yacout, A.; Bhattacharya, S. ​“Thermionic Converter and Methods of Making and Using the Same.” Filed for U.S. patent. (USPTO on February 5, 2020, as application #16/783,105).
• Bhattacharya, S.; Miao, Y.; Stauff, N.; Yacout, A. ​“Hydrogen Permeation Barrier Coatings and Methods of Making the Same.” Filed for U.S. patent. (USPTO on July 10, 2020, as application #16/925,782).
• Miao, Y.; Bhattacharya, S.; Stauff, N.; Kim, T.K.; Yacout, A. ​“High-temperature and/or High-pressure Gas Enclosure.” Filed for U.S. patent. (USPTO on July 10, 2020, as application #16/925,839).
• Miao, Y.; Bhattacharya, S.; Stauff, N.; Kim, T.K.; Yacout, A. ​“Moderation Modules.” Filed for U.S. patent. (USPTO on July 10, 2020, as application #16/926,132).
• Bhattacharya, S.; Miao, Y.; Yacout, A. ​“Materials and Methods for Selective Noble Gas Adsorption.” Filed for U.S. patent. (USPTO on September 26, 2019, as application #16/583,851).

Select Publications

• Miao, Y.; Mo, K.; Bhattacharya, S.; Jamison, L.; Oaks, A.; Kim, Y.S.; Yacout, A. ​“Microstructure Evolution in U-10Zr Alloy Irradiated by Swift Xe Ions at 700°C.” Journal of Nuclear Materials, 2021, 543, 152470. 
• Bhattacharya, S.; Mo, K.; Mei, Z.; Seidman, D.; Stepnik, B.; Pellin, M.J.; Yacout A. ​“Improving Stability of ALD ZrN Thin Film Coatings over U-Mo Dispersion Fuel.” Applied Surface Science, 2020, 147378.
• Bhattacharya, S.; Jamison, L.; Seidman, D.; Mohamed, W.; Bei, Y.; Pellin, M.J.; Yacout, A. ​“Nanocrystalline ZrN Thin Film Development via Atomic Layer Deposition for U-Mo Powder.” Journal of Nuclear Materials, 2020, 526, 151770.
• Martin, C.L.; Ajayi, O.; Hartman, K.; Bhattacharya, S.; Yacout, A. ​“Effect of Al2O3 Coating on Fretting Wear Performance of Zr Alloy.” Wear, 2019, 426, 219–227.
• Mei, Z.; Bhattacharya, S.; Yacout, A. ​“Adhesion of ZrN and Al2O3 Coatings on U Metal from First Principles.” Applied Surface Science, 2019, 473, 121–126.
• Bhattacharya, S.; Liu, X.; Miao, Y.; Mo, K.; Mei, Z.; Jamison, L.; Mohamed, W.; Oaks, A.; Xu, R.; Zhu, S.; Stubbins, J.F.; Yacout, A. ​“Interaction between Al and Atomic Layer Deposited (ALD) ZrN under High-energy Heavy Ion Irradiation.” Acta Materialia, 2019, 164, 788–798.
• Mei, Z.; Bhattacharya, S.; Yacout, A. ​“First-principles Study of Fracture Toughness Enhancement in Transition Metal Nitrides.” Surface and Coatings Technology, 2019, 357, 903–909.
• Ye, B.; Bhattacharya, S.; Mo, K.; Yun, D.; Mohamed, W.; Pellin, M.J.; Fortner, J.; Kim, Y.S.; Hoffman, G.L.; Yacout, A.; Wiencek, T.; Van den Berghe, S.; Leenaers, A. ​“Irradiation Behavior Study of U-Mo/Al Dispersion Fuel with High Energy.” Journal of Nuclear Materials, 2015, 464, 236–244.
• Sen, R.; Bhattacharya, S.; Das, S.; Das, K. ​“Effect of Surfactant on the Co-electrodeposition of the Nano-sized Ceria Particle in the Nickel Matrix.” Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2010, 489(2), 650–658.
• Mangam, V.; Bhattacharya, S.; Das, K.; Das, S. ​“Friction and Wear Behavior of Cu–CeO2 Nanocomposite Coatings Synthesized by Pulsed Electrodeposition.” Surface and Coatings Technology, 2010, 205(3), 801–805.