Faculty Publications
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Item Interparticle interactions and lacunarity of mechano-chemically activated fly ash(Elsevier, 2015) Patil, A.G.; Shanmugharaj, A.M.; Anandhan, S.A class F fly ash was subjected to high-energy ball milling-induced mechano-chemical activation aided by a surfactant. The resultant nanostructured fly ash was characterized by various techniques. X-ray fluorescence results showed that the amount of iron oxide was reduced from 4.39% to 2.75% after pre-treatment of fly ash by magnetic separation. Ethyl acetate as the milling medium, a ball to powder ratio of 12:1 and 2wt% of surfactant reduced the average particle size of fly ash to 329nm and led to a specific surface area of 8.73m2/g. The decrease in crystallite size of mechano-chemically activated fly ash was confirmed from a reduction in peak intensity with a broadened amorphous phase by X-ray diffraction studies. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic characterization illustrated that peak area of major elements (O, Si and Al) increased after milling. Morphological and FTIR studies revealed that the smooth and inert surface of the fly ash was converted to a rough and more reactive one after mechano-chemical activation. The surface modification of fly ash with the surfactant was determined from FTIR spectroscopy. Also, a fractal approach was used to characterize the lacunarity of the agglomerates in the nanostructured fly ash. © 2014 Elsevier B.V.Item Influence of planetary ball milling parameters on the mechano-chemical activation of fly ash(Elsevier, 2015) Patil, A.G.; Anandhan, S.This study illustrates the design of statistical analysis by Taguchi methodology to obtain nanostructured fly ash by planetary ball milling. An orthogonal array and analysis of variance were employed to analyze the effect of milling parameters. A class-F fly ash was subjected to planetary ball milling induced mechano-chemical activation aided by a surfactant. Ball milling parameters, such as ball-to-powder weight ratio, type and quantity of surfactant and type of medium were varied as guided by the Taguchi design. The nanostructured fly ash was characterized by dynamic light scattering, BET surface area analysis, X-ray diffraction, FTIR spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The ball-to-powder weight ratio and the surfactant type are the major influencing factors on lower crystallite size and average particle size and higher specific surface area. The surface modification of fly ash was confirmed by FTIR spectroscopy. The nano fly ash produced by this method has a wide application potential in polymer industries as reinforcement in composites. © 2015 Elsevier B.V.Item Nanostructured Fly Ash as Reinforcement in a Plastomer-Based Composite: A New Strategy in Value Addition to Thermal Power Station Fly Ash(Springer Netherlands, 2016) Patil, A.G.; Mahendran, A.; Anandhan, S.Class-F fly ash (FA) from a coal-fired thermal power station was subjected to high energy ball milling-induced mechanochemical activation aided by a surfactant. Subsequently, ethylene-octene copolymer/mechanochemically activated FA (EOC/MCA-FA) composites were prepared by solution casting. The surface modification of FA was confirmed from contact angle measurements and FTIR spectroscopy, which accounts for a good interaction between MCA-FA and the polymer matrix. X-ray diffraction reveals that the crystallite size of quartz phase present in FA got reduced, while the relative lattice strain on it increased during milling. Morphological studies revealed that interfacial adhesion between the polymer and MCA-FA is good and this accounts for the improvement in mechanical properties of the composites even at the minimum filler loading. Flame retardance of the matrix polymer is improved by the addition of either fresh FA or MCA-FA. The results imply that FA is a valuable reinforcing filler for ethylene-octene copolymer and its mechanochemical activation is an effective strategy for its future use. © 2014, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.Item Some new observations on the structural and phase evolution of nickel titanate nanofibers(Elsevier Ltd, 2017) Kumar, B.S.; Shanmugharaj, A.M.; Kalpathy, S.K.; Anandhan, S.In this study, we report for the first time the synthesis of nickel titanate (NTO) nanofibers containing a mixture of ilmenite and spinel phases of NTO, at an atypical low temperature. Precursor nanofibers produced by sol-gel electrospinning were calcined at three different temperatures to produce the NTO nanofibers. Thermal analysis along with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirmed the formation of non-crystalline stable phases of TiN and Ti-O-N that restrained the formation of ilmenite NTO, and the Ni-rich environment pushed the Ti atoms to tetrahedral sites to form a defective spinel structure. The crystallite size of spinel NTO was observed to increase as a function of the calcination temperature above 700 °C, as the activation energy for coalescence and growth of spinel NTO was favorable. NTO nanofibers obtained above the calcination temperature of 700 °C exhibited new band gap energy around 2.5 eV in Tauc plot. Oxygen vacancies in these ceramic nanofibers decreased as the calcination temperature was increased. A hypsochromic shift of 20 nm in the photoluminescence spectra suggested that the material had a Ni2+ rich NTO (spinel). © 2017 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l.Item Graphene nanoclusters embedded nickel cobaltite nanofibers as multifunctional electrocatalyst for glucose sensing and water-splitting applications(Elsevier Ltd, 2019) Kumar, B.S.; Gudla, V.C.; Ambat, R.; Kalpathy, S.K.; Anandhan, S.Nickel cobaltite (NCO) attains the apex of Sabatier-type volcano plot for electrochemical reaction compared to simple oxides due to synergetic effect of mixed transition metal cations. The combination of high surface area, aspect ratio, and porosity of electrospun NCO nanofibers (NCO-NF) enhance their electrocatalytic performance by improved electron mobility and more active sites. In the present study, NCO-NF fabricated using poly (styrene-co-acrylonitrile) (SAN) as a sacrificial polymer, were embellished with graphene nanoclusters (GNC), which augment the electrocatalytic performance of the NCO-NF. The in situ formed GNC along the NCO-NF are result of the interaction between the polar functional groups of the polymer, and the cations of precursor salts during the calcination of precursor nanofibers. The GNC/NCO-NF with least crystallite size and high aspect ratio having porous NCO nanoparticles and in situ grown GNC were developed using sol-gel electrospinning process assisted by calcination of precursor nanofibers. This simple, eco-friendly, and economical synthesis route with unique structure chemistry of SAN to form GNC and the presence of dual cations (Ni and Co) provides enhanced performance and multifunctionality to GNC/NCO-NF electrodes for electrocatalytic applications, such as biosensors and water-splitting. In the present study, the modified electrodes (GNC/NCO-NF/graphite electrode) exhibited excellent non-enzymatic glucose detection over a wide range of concentration with a lower limit of 1.2 ?M and sensitivity of 1827.5 ?A mM?1 mg?1 in 0.1 M NaOH. Further, the modified electrodes were also tuned for H2O2 detection to aid enzymatic glucose sensing. When examined for bifunctional water-splitting in 1 M NaOH, the electrode reached an onset potential of ?0.537 V and 0.735 V against reversible hydrogen reference electrode and a Tafel slope of 37.6 mV·dec?1 and 67.0 mV·dec?1 for hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions, respectively. The results prove that GNC/NCO-NF are promising candidates as multifunctional electrocatalyst. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l.