The Terahertz (THz) Research Group of the DRDO Industry Academia–Centre of Excellence (DIA-CoE), ACRHEM, School of Physics, University of Hyderabad, has successfully demonstrated the dielectric relaxation dynamics and optical properties of a newly developed series of green-synthesized fluoro-nitrato energetic plasticizers using reflection-mode Terahertz Time-Domain Spectroscopy (THz-TDS).

Energetic plasticizers play an important role in solid rocket propellants used in missile propulsion systems. They are incorporated into polymeric binder systems to combine the functions of conventional plasticizers with an additional contribution to the energetic performance of the propellant. The reported energetic plasticizers were synthesized for the first time at ACRHEM, University of Hyderabad.

The THz spectroscopy group, led by Senior Professor Anil Kumar Chaudhary and comprising Dr. Chandan Ghorui (PMRF Fellow), in collaboration with Dr. Balaka Barkakaty, Dr. Harish Kumar Keerthi, and Dr. S. C. Bhattacharyya of DIA-CoE (ACRHEM), has jointly reported, for the first time, a self-referenced reflection-mode THz-TDS approach for investigating the optical constants and ultrafast dielectric relaxation behaviour of newly synthesized ACR-ENP energetic plasticizers and their polymer composites over the 0.1–2.5 THz frequency range.

Dr. Chandan Ghorui

The study establishes a direct relationship between molecular design, polymer blending, and terahertz dielectric response, providing an important pathway toward the development of next-generation energetic plasticizers for applications in terahertz sensing, defence technologies,The research has been published in the prestigious Journal of Physical Chemistry C (American Chemical Society): “Probing Dielectric Relaxation in Green-Synthesized Fluoro-Nitrato Energetic Plasticizers via Self-Referenced THz Reflection Spectroscopy,” Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2026, 130, 10376–10389.

DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.6c02207.

 

Prof. Chaudhary, along with Dr. Nagarju Menchu, has also developed a novel technique for “De-embedding Intrinsic Terahertz Spectral Signatures of RDX, TNT, and CL-20 from Granular Soil Matrices Using Effective Medium Theory.” The work has been published in Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, Vol. 363, Part 2, Article 128434 (2026),

DOI: 10.1016/j.saa.2026.128434 (published online ahead of print).