Faculty Publications
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Item Novel eco-friendly synthesis of graphene directly from graphite using 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine 1-oxyl and study of its electrochemical properties(Elsevier B.V., 2015) Subramanya, B.; Bhat, D.K.Herein we report a simple, low cost, highly efficient and environment friendly one-pot method for the high throughput synthesis of graphene directly from graphite using 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine 1-oxyl (TEMPO) and H2O2 under microwave irradiation. The formation mechanism of graphene nanosheets (GNS) as investigated by Raman spectroscopy and electron microscopy techniques reveal surface defect generation, intercalation and exfoliation as the main steps. The rapid and local Joule heating of graphite by microwave radiation results in simultaneous deoxygenation and exfoliation forming GNS. The as-synthesized GNS are a few layer thick with a high surface area of 937.6 m2 g-1 and a high C/O ratio of 9.2. These results open the perspective of replacing toxic oxidizing and reducing agents by environment friendly chemicals of similar efficacy, thus facilitating the large-scale production of GNS by a greener method. Furthermore, GNS exhibits good electrochemical performance with a large specific capacitance (197 F g-1), excellent rate capability and a long cycle life (1000 cycles) in neat 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (EMIMBF4) electrolyte. It also has a high energy density of 76.03 W h kg-1 while simultaneously possessing a high power density of 1.12 kW kg-1. © 2014 Elsevier B.V.Item Novel Fe-Ni-Graphene composite electrode for hydrogen production(Elsevier Ltd, 2015) Badrayyana, S.; Bhat, D.K.; Shenoy, U.S.; Ullal, Y.; Hegde, A.We have developed a novel, efficient and economical composite electrode for hydrogen production. The electrode has been formed by embedding graphene in the Fe-Ni matrix via room temperature electrodeposition. The obtained active coatings have been tested for their efficiency and performance as electrode surfaces for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in 6 M KOH by cyclic voltammetry and chronopotentiometry techniques. The coating obtained at 60 mA cm-2 exhibited approximately 3 times higher activity for hydrogen production than that of binary Fe-Ni alloy. Addition of graphene to electrolyte bath resulted in porous 3D projections of nano-sized spheres of Fe-Ni on the surface of graphene, which effectively increased the electrochemically active surface area. XPS analysis results showed the equal distribution of both Ni metal and NiO active sites on the composite. The addition of graphene favoured the deposition of metallic nickel, which accelerated the rate determining proton discharge reaction. All these factors remarkably enhanced the HER activity of Fe-Ni-Graphene (Fe-Ni-G) composite electrode. The Tafel slope analysis showed that the HER follows Volmer-Tafel mechanism. The structure-property relationship of Fe-Ni-G coating has been discussed by interpreting field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis results. © 2015 Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Item Novel RGO-ZnWO4-Fe3O4 nanocomposite as high performance visible light photocatalyst(Royal Society of Chemistry, 2016) Mohamed, M.M.J.; Shenoy, U.S.; Bhat, D.K.A novel RGO-ZnWO4-Fe3O4 nanocomposite is synthesized by a microwave irradiation method and its catalytic activity for the photo degradation of Methylene Blue (MB) is investigated. The prepared nanocomposites are characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Raman spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL) and UV-visible spectroscopy. The visible light photocatalytic activities of the prepared nanocomposites are investigated using a MB dye solution. It is noteworthy that RGO-ZnWO4-Fe3O4 nanocomposites exhibited relatively high photocatalytic activity compared to ZnWO4-RGO and pure ZnWO4 on MB in aqueous solution. This enhanced rate is due to the ability of the graphene in the RGO-ZnWO4-Fe3O4 composite to support carrier exploitation efficiently by tolerating the photo excited electron-hole pairs and thus encouraging oxidative degradation of the pollutants. This work could be extended to other organic pollutants as well and could provide new insights into ternary nanocomposites as high performance photocatalysts and their application in waste water treatment. © 2016 The Royal Society of Chemistry.Item Enhanced photocatalytic performance of N-doped RGO-FeWO4/Fe3O4 ternary nanocomposite in environmental applications(Elsevier Ltd, 2017) Mohamed, M.; Shenoy, U.S.; Bhat, D.K.Nitrogen doped RGO- FeWO4/Fe3O4 (NRGO-FeWO4/Fe3O4) ternary nanocomposite was synthesized by rapid single step microwave irradiation approach using iron acetate, ammonium tungstate and graphene oxide as precursors. The synthesized materials were thoroughly characterized by diffraction, microscopic and spectroscopic techniques. The materials were tested for their catalytic efficiency in photo degradation of Methylene Blue (MB) dye and in reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) to 4-aminophenol (4-AP). MB was mineralized within 100 minutes of visible light irradiation time in the presence of the ternary composite, apart from excellent stability and efficiency even after 10 consecutive cycles. The composite also had the capacity to convert 4-NP into 4-AP within 45 seconds and showed very good catalytic activity even after 20 cycles. The results revealed that ternary composite has way more efficiency than the component materials and can act as a promising catalyst for various environmental and engineering applications. © 2017 Elsevier LtdItem NiWO4-ZnO-NRGO ternary nanocomposite as an efficient photocatalyst for degradation of methylene blue and reduction of 4-nitro phenol(Elsevier Ltd, 2017) Mohamed, M.; Shenoy, U.S.; Bhat, D.K.A novel NiWO4-ZnO-NRGO ternary nanocomposite has been efficiently synthesized by decorating nitrogen doped reduced graphene oxide (NRGO) with zinc oxide and nickel tungstate nanoparticles via a facile microwave irradiation technique and its capability to catalyze photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) dye in aqueous solution and reduction of 4-nitro phenol (4-NP) to 4-amino phenol (4-AP) using sodium borohydride was explored. The as-synthesized nanocomposite was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis, energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) techniques. The photocatalytic activity of the as-synthesized nanocomposite estimated through the photodegradation of MB under visible light irradiation showed 9 times improvement over pure NiWO4. It also showed excellent catalytic activity in reduction of 4-NP to 4-AP. The material also showed excellent stability and reusability. The entire study revealed that the novel NiWO4-ZnO-NRGO ternary nanocomposite can act as a promising bifunctional photocatalyst for environmental remediation and industrial application. © 2017 Elsevier LtdItem Novel NRGO-CoWO4-Fe2O3 nanocomposite as an efficient catalyst for dye degradation and reduction of 4-nitrophenol(Elsevier Ltd, 2018) Mohamed, M.M.J.; Shenoy, S.; Bhat, D.K.Novel NRGO-CoWO4-Fe2O3 (N-doped reduced graphene oxide-cobalt tungstate-iron oxide) ternary nanocomposite was prepared by using simple microwave method. The synthesized materials were thoroughly characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectroscopy, photoluminescence (PL) and UV-Visible spectroscopy. The nanocomposite was studied for its catalytic activity in degradation of methylene blue (MB) and reduction of 4-Nitrophenol (4-NP) to 4-Aminophenol (4-AP). The observed results of catalytic efficiency and rate constants indicated that the NRGO-CoWO4-Fe2O3 nanocomposite can perform as an excellent catalyst compared to other composite materials. The detailed experimental study revealed that this ternary nanocomposite shows a great promise as a candidate for various environmental applications. © 2018 Elsevier B.V.Item Eco-friendly synthesis of porous graphene and its utilization as high performance supercapacitor electrode material(Elsevier Ltd, 2019) Sethi, M.; Bantawal, H.; Shenoy, U.S.; Bhat, D.K.The successful application of porous graphene (PG) is hindered due to the lack of efficient and cost-effective method for its synthesis. Herein, we report a facile and eco-friendly method to produce PG through a low temperature solvothermal method. The structural and morphological characteristics of PG samples were investigated thoroughly. The as synthesized material is found to be a few layers thick (?4–6 layers) with a surface area of 420 m2 g?1 and consisting of hierarchical pores on the surface of the sheets. A high specific capacitance of 666 F g?1 was obtained at a scan rate of 5 mV s?1, apart from longer cyclic stability with 87% retention of initial capacitance value after 10000 cycles for the PG 28 sample. The fabricated supercapacitor displayed an energy density of 26.3 Wh kg?1 and power density of 6120 W kg?1. Density functional theory calculations were also carried out to qualitatively support the enhanced capacitance by providing theoretical insight from electronic structure and density of states of PG. These results open a new avenue for greener synthesis of high-quality PG using environmentally friendly solvents, without the use of toxic chemicals, for excellent supercapacitor performance. © 2019 Elsevier B.V.Item Porous Graphene Wrapped SrTiO3 Nanocomposite: Sr-C Bond as an Effective Coadjutant for High Performance Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue(American Chemical Society service@acs.org, 2019) Bantawal, H.; Sethi, M.; Shenoy, U.S.; Bhat, D.K.Porous graphene-SrTiO3 (PGST) composite prepared by a facile solvothermal method was tested for its photocatalytic activity in degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye. First-principles density functional theory calculations were also carried out to study the effect of nanocomposite formation on the electronic structure and density of states. The combined experimental and theoretical study gave insights regarding the formation of the Sr-C bond which enhanced the charge transport, effectively separating the charge carriers and reduced their recombination rate. The formation of PGST nanocomposite favorably tuned the electronic structure with decreased band gap due to introduction of the hybridized states extending the absorption to the visible region of electromagnetic spectrum. The microscopy studies revealed loofah like PG wrapped SrTiO3 nano structures with contusions providing high surface area facilitating adsorption of MB dye. Degradation of ?92% was obtained by 7.5 PGST in 120 min with high cyclic stability indicating its suitability as an efficient photocatalyst for the treatment of pollutants. © 2019 American Chemical Society.Item Porous graphene-NiCo2O4 nanorod hybrid composite as a high performance supercapacitor electrode material(Royal Society of Chemistry, 2020) Sethi, M.; Shenoy, U.S.; Bhat, D.K.The template free low temperature solvothermal synthesis of high capacitive porous graphene-NiCo2O4 nanorod composites has been carried out. Solvothermal synthesis followed by calcination in air led to the development of a highly porous hybrid nanocomposite, which acts as a buffering channel for fast ion diffusion and provides robust mechanical strength. Advantages of using porous graphene to enhance the capacitance of the material were studied theoretically using First principles calculations. High capacitance values of 1533 F g-1 at a scan rate of 5 mV s-1 and 1684 F g-1 at a current density of 1 A g-1 are obtained from cyclic voltammetry data and galvanostatic charge discharge data, respectively. The electrode material possesses good cyclic stability with the retention of 94% of its initial capacitance even after 10000 charge-discharge cycles at a current density of 8 A g-1 in 2 M KOH electrolyte. The fabricated supercapacitor exhibited a high energy density of 45.3 W h kg-1 and a high power density of 17843.5 W kg-1 due to the synergistic effect of the composite components. The enhanced electrochemical function of the composite makes it a potential candidate for supercapacitor application and future studies. This journal is © 2020 The Royal Society of Chemistry and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique.Item A porous graphene-NiFe2O4nanocomposite with high electrochemical performance and high cycling stability for energy storage applications(Royal Society of Chemistry orders@rsc.org, 2020) Sethi, M.; Shenoy, U.S.; Bhat, D.K.It is well agreed that supercapacitors form an important class of energy storage devices catering to a variety of needs. However, designing the same using eco-friendly and earth abundant materials with high performance is still the dire need of the day. Here, we report a facile solvothermal synthesis of a porous graphene-NiFe2O4 (PGNF) nanocomposite. Thorough elemental, diffraction, microscopic and spectroscopic studies confirmed the formation of the PGNF composite, in which the NF nanoparticles are covered over the PG surface. The obtained 10 PGNF composite showed a surface area of 107 m2 g-1, with large pore volume which is favorable for charge storage properties. When utilizing the material as an electrode for a supercapacitor in a 2 M KOH aqueous electrolyte, the electrode displayed an impressive specific capacitance value of 1465.0 F g-1 at a scan rate of 5 mV s-1 along with a high capacitance retention of 94% after 10?000 discharge cycles. The fabricated symmetrical supercapacitor device exhibited an energy density of 4.0 W h kg-1 and a power density of 3600.0 W kg-1 at a high applied current density of 14 A g-1. The superior electrochemical performance is attributed to the synergetic effect of the composite components which not only provided enough electroactive channels for the smooth passage of electrolyte ions but also maintained the hybrid structure intact in the ongoing electrochemical process. The obtained results underpin the promising utility of this material for future electrochemical energy storage devices. © The Royal Society of Chemistry.