Sensor technology in the healthcare industry is becoming more popular because of its valuable insights into patients' health and well-being. At KAUST, my focus is on developing a new class of human health monitoring systems with high accuracy through my expertise

Yuvaraj Sivalingam is a Research Scientist at the Sensors Lab, Computer, Electrical, and Mathematical Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia. 

Education and Early Career

He received his M.Sc. in Physics in 2007 from Madurai Kamaraj University, India and in 2009 he received his M.Tech. in Sensor System Technology from VIT University (India), with a project entitled “Studies on the development of compositions for hydrogen sensing applications and their relevant instrumentation’. In 2008-2009 during his M.Tech. , he was a “project student” at Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (India). In 2009-2010, he started his research career in “Hydrothermal synthesis, fabrication and impedance analysis of 1D ZnO nanorods in the Laboratory of Nano Optoelectronic Materials at the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (Taiwan). He completed his PhD in Sensorial and Learning System Engineering at the University of Rome “Tor Vergata” (Italy) with a thesis entitled “Porphyrins coated ZnO nanostructures: preparation, characterization and chemical sensing applications”. In 2012&2013, he was a “visiting PhD student”  for short periods in the Laboratory of Advanced Electroactive Materials at Polytechnique de Montreal (Canada) and  Prof. Tokito's Laboratory, Research Center for Organic Electronics, Printed Device Technology Research Division at Yamagata University, Yonezawa Campus, Japan.

He continued as a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, Italy (2013-2014). He was a JSPS post-doctoral fellow at WPI-AIMR, Tohoku University, Japan (2014-2016). He continued his career as an Assistant Professor (Research) at the Department of Physics and Nanotechnology, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur Campus, Tamil Nadu, India (2016-2022). Since then he has been leading the Laboratory for Sensors, Energy and Electronic Devices (Lab SEED). From 2022 onwards, he is an Associate Professor (Research) at the same Institute. He has been guiding PhD (3 graduated, 4 ongoing), master's (8 graduated), and bachelor's (12 graduated) student thesis from 2017. He has published 81 papers in international journals and conference proceedings.

Research Interest

  • Synthesis of organic/inorganic hybrid nanomaterials and their applications in sensors for 
    • Food analysis
    • Environmental monitoring
    • Medical diagnosis

  • Photoelectric/piezoelectric self-powered gas sensor array
  • Piezoelectric nanogenerators
  • Gate extended FET-based biosensors

Projects

  • Principal Investigator in DST-SERB “Early Career Research Award - ECRA” project entitled "Self-Powered Electronic Nose based on Hybrid Nanomaterials for Breath Analysis", with a total outlay of Rs.52.18 lakhs (~69650 $) by DST-SERB, Govt of India (Research Grant No. ECR/2017/001218). (2017-2020)
  • Principal Investigator in DST-SERB “Core Research Grant - CRG” project entitled " Enriched Self-powered Gas Sensors based on Porphyrinoid-functionalized Ti3C2Tx MXene for detection of physiological disorders through breath analysis", with a total outlay of Rs.41.24 lakhs (~55234 $) by DST-SERB, Govt of India (Research Grant No. CRG/2021/006647). (2022-2025)
  • Principal Investigator in BRICS 2022 5th Call Joint Project with Russia and South Africa entitled “Research of novel multi-sensing platforms based on emerging low-dimensional materials to applications in the food industry under an electronic olfaction paradigm” (Project No. #BRICS2021-307) (2022-2025)

Awards

  • June 2017: Awarded Early Career Research Award from the Department of Science and Technology – Science and Engineering Research Board, Government of India.
  • April 2015: Awarded JSPS Post-Doctoral Fellowship from Japan Society for Promotion of Science (JSPS) for two years (April 2015-March 2017)
  • December 2013: Awarded First Level Research Grant from the University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy for one year (December 2013-December 2014)

Professional Memberships

  • July 2022 – Present: Research Associate Professor, Department of Physics and Nanotechnology, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur, Tamil Nadu, India.
  • October 2016 – June 2022: Research Assistant Professor, Department of Physics and Nanotechnology, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur, Tamil Nadu, India.
  • April 2015 - September 2016: JSPS Postdoctoral Fellow, WPI-AIMR, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
  • December 2014 - March 2015: Postdoctoral Fellow, WPI-AIMR, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan. 
  • December 2013 - December 2014: Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy. 
  • November 2010 - October 2013: Ph.D. student, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.
  • August 2013 - September 2013: Visiting Ph.D. student, at Yamagata University, Yonezawa, Japan. 
  • July 2012 - December 2012: Visiting PhD student, Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal, Canada. 
  • September 2009 - October 2010: Research student, NTUST, Taiwan.
  • 2008 - 2009: M.Tech. Project student, IGCAR, Kalpakkam, India.
  • American Chemical Society (ACS), from 2020
  • Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA), 2017-2019
  • Chemical Society of Japan, 2015 
  • The Society of Polymer Science, Japan, 2016
  • Materials Research Express (2017-2018)
  • Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing (2019-2020)
  • The ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology (2021)
  • Review Editor in Frontiers in Chemistry – Supramolecular Chemistry (2022 onwards)

Selected Publications

Kuppuswamy, G.P., Shabanur Matada, M.S., Marappan, G., Mulla, M.Y., Velappa Jayaraman, S., Di Natale, C., Sivalingam, Y., 2023. NiOX Template-Grown Ni-MOF-Coated Carbon Paper Electrode Embedded Extended Gate Field Effect Transistor for Glucose Detection in Saliva: En Route toward the Noninvasive Diagnosis of Diabetes Mellitus. ACS Appl. Electron. Mater. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsaelm.3c00339
George, J., Vikraman, H.K., Reji, R.P., Mamidipudi Ghanashyam, K., Velappa Jayaraman, S., Sivalingam, Y., Mangalampalli Sri Rama Narasimha, K., 2022. Novel Ternary Nitride Thin Film-Based Self-Powered, Broad Spectral Responsive Photodetector with a High Detectivity for Weak Light. Advanced Materials Technologies n/a, 2200645. https://doi.org/10.1002/admt.202200645
Kuppuswamy, G.P., P, K., Jayaraman, S.V., Varadharaj, E.K., Kumar, S.S., Natale, C.D., Sivalingam, Y., 2022. ZIF-67 derived Co3O4 dodecahedron shaped microparticles electrode based extended gate field-effect transistor for non-enzymatic glucose detection towards diabetes mellitus diagnosis. J. Mater. Chem. C. https://doi.org/10.1039/D1TC05281K
Muduganti, M., Magna, G., di Zazzo, L., Stefanelli, M., Capuano, R., Catini, A., Duranti, L., Di Bartolomeo, E., Sivalingam, Y., Bernardini, S., Paolesse, R., Di Natale, C., 2022. Porphyrinoids coated silica nanoparticles capacitive sensors for COVID-19 detection from the analysis of blood serum volatolome. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical 369, 132329. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.snb.2022.132329
Ravikumar, A., Natraj, V., Verma, A., Sivagnanam, S., Sivalingam, Y., Das, P., Surya, V.J., Han, W., Liu, N., 2023. Wearable Sensors for Real-time Physiological Monitoring based on Self-assembled Diphenylalanine Peptide Nanostructures. Surfaces and Interfaces 102986. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surfin.2023.102986
Sivalingam, Y., Magna, G., Kalidoss, R., Murugan, S., Chidambaram, D., Nutalapati, V., Jayaraman, S.V., Paolesse, R., Natale, C.D., 2021. Combinatorial selectivity with an array of phthalocyanines functionalized TiO2/ZnO heterojunction thin film sensors. Nanotechnology 33, 075503. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6528/ac378a
Dutta, G.K., Kasthuri, S., Marappan, G., Jayaraman, S.V., Sivalingam, Y., Natale, C.D., Nutalapati, V., 2019. Aggregation behavior in naphthalene-appended diketopyrrolopyrrole derivatives and its gas adsorption impact on surface potential. J. Mater. Chem. C 7, 9954–9965. https://doi.org/10.1039/C9TC02226K
Gawas, P.P., Bora, A., Reji, R.P., CB, S.K., Ramakrishna, B., Nalluri, V., Jayaraman, S.V., Sivalingam, Y., Nutalapati, V., 2022. Tuning the π-Conjugation of 2-Thiohydantoins toward a Rigorously Defined Detection of Volatile Organic Compounds by Surface Photovoltage. ACS Appl. Electron. Mater. 4, 2313–2325. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsaelm.2c00149
Gawas, P.P., Bora, A., Reji, R.P., Ramakrishna, B., Managutti, P.B., Göb, C.R., Mohamed, S., Kawazoe, Y., Velappa Jayaraman, S., Sivalingam, Y., Nutalapati, V., 2023. Substituent Effect on Stimuli-Responsive Donor–Acceptor Framework-Based 2-Thiohydantoins for Monitoring Nonanal Vapors. J. Phys. Chem. C 127, 6466–6482. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.2c08663
Kalidoss, R., Umapathy, S., Anandan, R., Ganesh, V., Sivalingam, Y., 2019. Comparative Study on the Preparation and Gas Sensing Properties of Reduced Graphene Oxide/SnO2 Binary Nanocomposite for Detection of Acetone in Exhaled Breath. Anal. Chem. 91, 5116–5124. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.8b05670
Magna, G., Muduganti, M., Stefanelli, M., Sivalingam, Y., Zurlo, F., Di Bartolomeo, E., Catini, A., Martinelli, E., Paolesse, R., Di Natale, C., 2021. Light-Activated Porphyrinoid-Capped Nanoparticles for Gas Sensing. ACS Appl. Nano Mater. 4, 414–424. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsanm.0c02754
Magna, G., Sivalingam, Y., Martinelli, E., Pomarico, G., Basoli, F., Paolesse, R., Di Natale, C., 2014. The influence of film morphology and illumination conditions on the sensitivity of porphyrins-coated ZnO nanorods. Analytica Chimica Acta 810, 86–93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aca.2013.12.008
Rana, P., Marappan, G., Sivagnanam, S., Surya, V.J., Sivalingam, Y., Das, P., 2022. Self-assembly induced tunable multiple fluorescence output from a white light-emitting functionalized single π-conjugated molecule and implication in VOC sensing applications. Mater. Chem. Front. 6, 1421–1436. https://doi.org/10.1039/D2QM00079B
Ravikumar, A., Natraj, V., Sivalingam, Y., Surya, V.J., Zheng, F., Wang, H., Du, Q., Liu, N., 2022. Piezoelectric nanogenerator induced work function on a metal phenolic coordination framework from copper oxide nanospheres for efficient biomechanical energy harvesting and physiological monitoring. J. Mater. Chem. C 10, 16492–16505. https://doi.org/10.1039/D2TC03396H
Reji, R.P., Balaji, S.K.C., Sivalingam, Y., Kawazoe, Y., Velappa Jayaraman, S., 2023. First-Principles Density Functional Theory Calculations on the Potential of Sc2CO2 MXene Nanosheets as a Dual-Mode Sensor for Detection of Volatile Organic Compounds in Exhaled Human Breath. ACS Appl. Nano Mater. 6, 5345–5356. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsanm.2c05474
Sayago, J., Soavi, F., Sivalingam, Y., Cicoira, F., Santato, C., 2014. Low voltage electrolyte-gated organic transistors making use of high surface area activated carbon gate electrodes. J. Mater. Chem. C 2, 5690–5694. https://doi.org/10.1039/C4TC00864B
Sivalingam, Y., Magna, G., Pomarico, G., Catini, A., Martinelli, E., Paolesse, R., Di Natale, C., 2013. The light enhanced gas selectivity of one-pot grown porphyrins coated ZnO nanorods. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical 188, 475–481. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.snb.2013.07.044
Sivalingam, Y., Magna, G., Pomarico, G., Catini, A., Martinelli, E., Paolesse, R., Natale, C.D., 2012a. The influence of gas adsorption on photovoltage in porphyrin coated ZnO nanorods. J. Mater. Chem. 22, 20032–20037. https://doi.org/10.1039/C2JM33929C
Sivalingam, Y., Martinelli, E., Catini, A., Magna, G., Pomarico, G., Basoli, F., Paolesse, R., Di Natale, C., 2012b. Gas-Sensitive Photoconductivity of Porphyrin-Functionalized ZnO Nanorods. J. Phys. Chem. C 116, 9151–9157. https://doi.org/10.1021/jp302225u
Sivalingam, Y., Pudi, R., Lvova, L., Pomarico, G., Basoli, F., Catini, A., Legin, A., Paolesse, R., Di Natale, C., 2015. The light modulation of the interaction of l-cysteine with porphyrins coated ZnO nanorods. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical 209, 613–621. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.snb.2014.11.146
Thangavel, S., Pazhamalai, P., Krishnamoorthy, K., Sivalingam, Y., Arulappan, D., Mohan, V., Kim, S.-J., Venugopal, G., 2022. Ferroelectric-semiconductor BaTiO3–Ag2O nanohybrid as an efficient piezo-photocatalytic material. Chemosphere 292, 133398. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.133398
Vikraman, H.K., George, J., Reji, R.P., Kuppuswamy, G.P., Sutar, Sanjay.D., Swami, A., Ramamoorthy, S., Sundaramurthy, A., Pramanik, S., Velappa Jayaraman, S., Perumal, S., Sivalingam, Y., Mangalampalli, S.R.N.K., 2023. Unprecedented Multifunctionality in Novel Monophase Micro/Nanostructured Ti-Zn Alloy. Small n/a, 2305126. https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202305126