Journal Articles
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://idr.nitk.ac.in/handle/123456789/19884
Browse
80 results
Search Results
Item Recent trends and insights in nickel chalcogenide nanostructures for water-splitting reactions(Taylor and Francis Ltd., 2021) Bhat, K.S.; Nagaraja, H.S.Developing earth-abundant-electrocatalysts for water-splitting reactions is of great importance to curb contemporary energy demands and to address the important issues such as global warming, pollution and etc. State-of-the-art electrocatalysts (Pt, RuO2 and IrO2) remain the first choice for water electrolysis, however, their high-cost, scarcity and poor stability motivate researchers for the search of abundant, inexpensive and stable enough electrocatalysts for long-term operations. Recently nickel chalcogenides have emerged as a promising substitute for state-of-the-art electrocatalysts, owing to their excellent physiochemical aspects such as high electronic conductivity, chemical stability, specific surface area and porosity. This review paper describes the different parameters to evaluate the electrocatalytic activity, followed by different synthesis methods and strategies employed for the synthesis of nickel chalcogenides. Furthermore, this review provides an overview of some of the important investigations and developments on nickel chalcogenides for water-splitting reactions. At last, the challenges and opportunities for the future exploration of these nickel chalcogenides are put forward and discussed. © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.Item Advanced Electrolyte Additives for Lithium-Ion Batteries: Classification, Function, and Future Directions(American Chemical Society, 2025) Brijesh, K.; Jareer, M.; Lakshmi Sagar, G.; Mukesh, P.; Alagarsamy, A.; Mandal, D.; Nagaraja, H.S.; Shahgaldi, S.Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are widely employed as energy storage devices, particularly in portable electronics and electric vehicles, owing to their high energy density and efficiency. Among the key components of LIBs, the electrolyte plays a crucial role in determining capacity, cycling stability, rate performance, the electrode/electrolyte interface, and overall battery efficiency. However, traditional electrolytes face significant challenges, including severe structural degradation and interfacial side reactions under high-voltage and high-temperature conditions. Protective layers, such as the cathode-electrolyte interphase (CEI) and solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI), are essential for addressing these issues. These layers inhibit electron transfer while allowing lithium-ion (Li+) transport, preserving the structural and electrochemical integrity of the battery. A cost-effective strategy to further enhance the electrode-electrolyte interface and boost LIB performance is the incorporation of carefully designed electrolyte additives. While some articles discuss the use of electrolyte additives in LIBs, there is a lack of detailed studies classifying these additives based on their chemical composition-based grouping. Such a classification enables a more focused examination of the roles and mechanisms by which these additives improve LIB performance. This review paper bridges this gap by examining various electrolyte additives and their contributions to enhancing the safety and performance of next-generation LIBs. It provides valuable insights into the current progress and challenges associated with additives in liquid electrolytes. The article is organized into seven sections, addressing boron-based electrolyte additives (Section 2), sulfur-based electrolyte additives (Section 3), phosphorus-based electrolyte additives (Section 4), fluorine-based electrolyte additives (Section 5), and nitrogen-based electrolyte additives (Section 6). Each section discusses specific examples, the formation of SEI and CEI layers, and the electrochemical properties of these additives. Furthermore, the article concludes with a summary and outlook, advocating for continued advancements in electrolyte engineering for LIBs. © 2025 American Chemical Society.Item Conversion of microfiltration membrane into nanofiltration membrane by vapour phase deposition of aluminium for desalination application(2011) Padaki, M.; Isloor, A.M.; Nagaraja, K.K.; Nagaraja, H.S.; Pattabi, M.Preparation and modification of NF membrane are challenging aspects in research. In the present work, we have synthesised Polysulfone (PSf) microfiltration membrane and reduced the pore size to nano level by physical vapour deposition (PVD) of aluminium metal. Membrane pore size was reduced from micro pore to nano pore, which rejected 42.22% of NaCl from the solution with 164L/m2h. And also water permeation decreases from 1.10324-10-10 to the 9.141-10-12. The SEM and AFM pictures showed the surface modification and metal deposition in the pores. The performance of the membrane was studied by dead end flow cell using 3.5% of NaCl solution, in which PVD membrane showed 42.22% of rejection with 16.4L/m2h flux. Thermal analysis from DSC showed Tg of 265°C. Contact angle measurement, and water uptake were also reported. © 2011 Elsevier B.V.Item Magnetic domain studies of cobalt nanostructures(2012) Nagaraja, H.S.; Nagaraja, K.K.; Rossignol, F.; Dumas-Bouchiat, F.; Champeaux, C.; Catherinot, A.The pulsed laser deposition technique associated with a low energy cluster beam is used to deposit cobalt thin films with a thickness 100-200 nm and cobalt dots of a diameter 100-200 nm on silicon substrates. The deposited thin films of Co are composed of clusters of a size 10- 50 nm, with very few large grains as revealed by atomic force microscopy. The observations performed by magnetic force microscopy on as-grown thin films reveal randomly distributed out-of-plane magnetic domain structures. These magnetic domains are aligned linearly by applying an external magnetic field either perpendicular or parallel to the substrate during the deposition. In addition, the effect of film thickness and roughness on multidomains is reported. The increase of roughness resulted in the decrease of magnetic domain width from 200 to 100 nm. This decrease is accompanied by the appearance of instability in the stripe domain pattern. Well separated cobalt dots of diameter in the range of 100-200 nm are also deposited on silicon substrates, which show arc-like multidomains. The domains seem to be oriented along the long axis of the dots. The domain structure of Co nanodots is similar to that of Co thin films indicating strong magnetic coupling of clusters. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012.Item Third-order nonlinear optical properties of Mn doped ZnO thin films under cw laser illumination(Elsevier B.V., 2013) Nagaraja, K.K.; Pramodini, S.; Santhosh Kumar, A.; Nagaraja, H.S.; Poornesh, P.; Kekuda, D.We report the measurements of third-order nonlinear optical properties of undoped zinc oxide and manganese doped zinc oxide thin films with different doping concentrations investigated using z-scan technique. Thin films were prepared by radio frequency magnetron sputtering using a compound target on glass substrate at room temperature. The structural properties of the deposited films were analysed by X-ray diffraction studies. The atomic force microscope analysis of the deposited films reveals that the grain size and roughness of the films depend on the Mn concentration. The direct energy band gap of the deposited film increases with the increase in Mn concentration in the films. The nonlinear optical measurements were carried out using a cw He-Ne laser at 633 nm wavelength. The z-scan results reveal that the films exhibit self-defocusing nonlinearity. The third-order nonlinear optical susceptibility ?(3) is found to be of the order of 10-3 esu. The films investigated here exhibit good optical power limiting at the experimental wavelength. © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Item Effect of annealing on the structural and nonlinear optical properties of ZnO thin films under cw regime(2013) Nagaraja, K.K.; Pramodini, S.; Poornesh, P.; Nagaraja, H.S.We report on the studies of the effects of annealing on the structural and third-order nonlinear optical properties of ZnO thin films deposited on quartz substrates by the RF magnetron sputtering technique. The films were annealed in the temperature range 400-1000 °C. The third-order nonlinear optical studies were carried out using the z-scan technique under continuous wave (cw) He-Ne laser irradiation at 633 nm wavelength. The effects of annealing on the structural properties were examined using x-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The (0 0 2) preferred orientation increased with increase in annealing temperature up to 800 °C. The crystalline phases of SiO2 were observed at higher annealing temperatures. The appearance of an extraneous phase was confirmed by AFM images and optical transmittance spectra. The samples exhibited nonlinear absorption and nonlinear refraction under the experimental conditions. The negative sign of the nonlinear refractive index n2 indicated that the films exhibit self-defocusing property due to thermal nonlinearity. The nonlinear refractive index n2, the nonlinear absorption coefficient ?eff and the third-order optical susceptibility ?(3) were found to be of the highest orders. The estimated value of third-order optical susceptibility ?(3) was of the order of 10-3 esu. Multiple diffraction rings were observed when the samples were exposed to the laser beam. The appearance of rings was due to the refractive index change and thermal lensing. With increase in laser intensity, the variations of the self-diffraction ring patterns were studied experimentally. The films also exhibited strong optical limiting properties under cw laser excitation, and reverse saturable absorption was the dominant process leading to the observed nonlinear behaviour. © 2013 IOP Publishing Ltd.Item ZnO/carbon nanotube nanocomposite for high energy density supercapacitors(2013) Aravinda, L.S.; Nagaraja, K.K.; Nagaraja, H.S.; Bhat, K.; Badekai Ramachandra, B.A facile, green and highly efficient method for the decoration of carbon nanotubes with ZnO was developed for the fabrication of binder-free composite electrode for supercapacitor applications. The nano composite was prepared by using reactive magnetron sputtering in Ar/O2 environment. This approach leads to more uniform coating with tuneable thickness, which alters the electrochemical performance of the nano composite electrodes. The structure and surface morphology of the composite film have been studied by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, scanning electron microscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The XRD study reveals the formation of Wurtzite ZnO structure. The electrochemical performance of nano composite electrode was investigated using cyclic voltammetry, chronopotentiometry and electrochemical impedance measurements in non-aqueous electrolyte. The nano composite electrode shows significant increase in the specific capacitance up to 48 F g-1 with an energy density 13.1 Wh kg-1 in the potential range -2 V to 1 V. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Item Polymer assisted synthesis and characterization of fine ZnWO4(2013) Santhoshkumar, A.; Nagaraja, K.K.; Nagaraja, H.S.Zinc tungstate is a scintillator with excellent photocatalytic and photoluminescent properties. In the present study, fine sized ZnWO4 particles with monoclinic wolframate structure are prepared by chemical precipitation route assisted by polymer evaporation. The DTA/TGA and XRD techniques are employed to investigate the thermal behaviour and crystallite size evaluation of ZnWO4.The particle size and morphology of the powder that is heat treated at different temperature was characterized by SEM. The stretching and bending frequencies of the ZnWO4 is studied using FTIR. The result shows that the process provides a technically simple route for the precipitation of fine sized powder with narrow particle distribution. © (2013) Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland.Item Effect of Sn doping on structural, optical, electrical and wettability properties of oriented ZnO nanorod arrays(2013) Santhosh Kumar, A.; Nagaraja, K.K.; Nagaraja, H.S.Herein we present a modified sol gel route for the one step fabrication of oriented ZnO nanorod arrays. The method is seed layer free, and nanorods directly attach to a substrate. We also present the effect of tin (Sn) content on the crystallinity, microstructural, optical and electrical properties of the ZnO nanorod arrays. Thermo gravimetric (TG) curves of gel precursors showed that most of the organic groups and other volatiles were removed at about 450 C. X-ray diffraction patterns confirmed that the films were polycrystalline in nature with (002) preferred orientation. The texture coefficient, grain size, dislocation density and lattice parameters of the ZnO arrays were determined. The SEM micrographs revealed that the undoped and 1 at.%Sn doped films were composed of nanorods and the concentration of 2 at.%Sn doping hindered the rod like structure growth and modulated into granular nature. UV-visible transmission spectroscopy indicated that the transparency of the films increased with Sn content. On Sn doping, the films also exhibited a red shift and slight shrinkage of band gap. The electrical studies revealed that 1 at.% of Sn doping enhanced electrical conduction in ZnO films and beyond that the distortion caused in the lattice reduced the conductivity. The contact angle of the ZnO nanostructures varied between 91 and 115 depending upon the Sn content. Therefore, 1 at.%Sn doping into ZnO nanorods improves the crystallinity, electrical conductivity and water contact angle. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York.Item Third harmonic generation process in Al doped ZnO thin films(2014) Abd-Lefdil, M.; Douayar, A.; Belayachi, A.; Reshak, A.H.; Fedorchuk, A.O.; Pramodini, S.; Poornesh, P.; Nagaraja, K.K.; Nagaraja, H.S.We have performed studies on the third-order nonlinear optical susceptibility of Al doped ZnO (AZO) thin films using z-scan and third harmonic generation techniques. From the present studies, it reveals that the introduction of Al in ZnO leads to substantial changes in the third-order nonlinear susceptibility. Additionally we have shown that using treatment by the 707 nm laser pulses of the Er:glass 20 ns laser also influence on the third harmonic generation. Such behavior is explained by the photoinduced charge re-occupation of the trapping levels on the borders substrate and ZnO. Further, the sign and magnitude of nonlinear absorption coefficient ?eff, nonlinear refractive index n2, real and imaginary parts of third-order nonlinear susceptibility were evaluated. Finally, the optical limiting studies for various concentrations of AZO thin films were determined. Reverse saturable absorption was the dominant process leading to the observed nonlinear behavior. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.