Research Expertise and Interest
physical chemistry, nanoscale NMR spectroscopy
Research Description
Ashok Ajoy is an associate professor in the Chemistry Department. His research interests include: Physical Chemistry — nanoscale NMR spectroscopy, targetable spin hyperpolarization agents, methods for quantum sensing and quantum computing with spins, and the chemical physics of spin transport and dynamics at the nanoscale.
Nuclear spins are ubiquitous, constituting everything around us, and are quantum objects endowed with extremely long coherence times. They do not participate in chemical reactions, but report on their local chemical environment, making them excellent reporters of chemical structure. NMR spectroscopy can probe these spins but suffer from several technical limitations.
His research is innovating a new paradigm of deployable NMR probes, with the aim of enabling NMR spectroscopy within natural sample environments. By "bringing NMR to the sample" with nanoscale spatial resolution, they harness the exquisite chemical specificity of NMR to reveal insights into reaction mechanisms in-situ.