Faculty Publications
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Item High yield synthesis of carbon nanofibers in an environmental friendly route(Springer Nature, 2011) Ravindra, R.; Badekai Ramachandra, B.An environmental friendly route for the high yield synthesis of carbon nanofibers (CNFs) has been developed. CNFs have been synthesized using nickel formate as catalyst precursor at 680°C using chemical vapor deposition method. Upon pyrolysis this catalyst precursor yields metal catalyst nanoparticles directly. The sodium chloride and potassium chloride was used as catalyst support, it was chosen because of its non-toxic and water soluble nature. The problems such as detrimental effect, environment and even cost has been avoided by using water soluble supports. The structure of the products was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction method. The purity of as grown products and purified products was determined by thermal analysis. Here, we report the 7,800 and 7,200 wt% yield of CNFs synthesized over NaCl and KCl support. This synthetic route can be used for the large scale synthesis in industries. © 2011, The Author(s).Item Characterization of poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate-co-carbon monoxide)/layered silicate clay hybrids obtained by melt mixing(2011) Anandhan, S.; Patil, H.G.; Babu, R.R.In recent times, polymer-layered silicate nanocomposites have drawn a great deal of attention because they often exhibit tremendous improvements in material properties compared with virgin polymers or conventional microor macro-composites. In the present study, nanocomposites were developed from organically modified clay and poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate-co-carbon monoxide) by melt mixing. FTIR spectroscopy reveals that the interaction between the organoclay and EVACO is thermodynamically favored. High resolution wide angle X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy were used to study the morphology of the nanocomposites. Elemental mapping by scanning electron microscopy indicates good dispersion and distribution of the nanoclay in EVACO matrix. The mechanical properties of the nanocomposites are optimum at a clay loading of 3%. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011.Item Adsorption of benzene vapor onto activated biomass from cashew nut shell: Batch and column study(Bentham Science Publishers, 2012) Suresh, S.; Vijayalakshmi, G.; Rajmohan, B.; Subbaramaiah, V.The preparation of chemically modified activated cashew nut shell (ACNSB) of different impregnation ratios and their effects in adsorption of benzene vapor were studied. Effects of chemical pre-impregnation using phosphoric acid at different ratios (1:1 and 2:1) were investigated in order to patent. Physico-chemical characterization including surface area, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, High-resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy of the ACNSB before and after benzene adsorption have been done to understand the adsorption mechanism. Optimum conditions for benzene removal were found to be, adsorbent dose m=10 g/l of solution and time (t) 120 min for the C0 range of 300-500 mg/l. Adsorption of benzene followed pseudosecond-order kinetics. Langmuir and R-P isotherms were found to best represented data for benzene adsorption onto ACSNB. In ACNSB column experiments, it can be concluded that concentration of benzene increases with the longer breakthrough time and hence higher adsorption capacity. ACSNB are many advantages includes simple and fast, organic solvent recovery, economical, energy savings, environmentally safe aspect and minimize the waste management problem. © 2012 Bentham Science Publishers.Item Synthesis of copper nanofluids using ascorbic acid reduction method via one step solution phase approach(ASTM International, 2012) Shenoy, S.U.; Nityananda Shetty, A.N.A simple one step solution phase approach to synthesize copper nanofluids has been developed, involving simultaneous in situ synthesis of nanoparticles and their dispersion in the base fluid. Copper nitrate has been reduced using ascorbic acid in ethylene glycol under thermal as well as microwave conditions. Sodium lauryl sulfate has been used to control the size of the particle as well as to act as a stabilizing agent. The effect of ratio of the reactants, pH, power of microwave, reaction time, and dilution on the size of the particles has been studied using X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and field-emission scanning electron microscopy. The characterization of the fluids has also been done using Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, selected area electron diffraction, and energy dispersive X-ray analysis. The thermal conductivity and viscosity of the fluid were also measured at various particle concentrations. The copper particles in the fluid were found to have size less than 50nm and were well dispersed in the fluid. Thus this method was found to preserve the advantages of the polyol process and aqueous chemical reduction method as well. The fluid was stable up to 5 weeks under stationary conditions at room temperature. This method employs fast, inexpensive, extendible process for the synthesis of copper nanofluids and also overcomes the drawbacks of two step process. Copyright © 2012 by ASTM International.Item Large scale synthesis of carbon nanofibres on sodium chloride support(InTech Europe info@sagepub.co.uk, 2012) Rajarao, R.; Badekai Ramachandra, B.R.Large scale synthesis of carbon nanofibres (CNFs) on a sodium chloride support has been achieved. CNFs have been synthesized using metal oxalate (Ni, Co and Fe) as catalyst precursors at 680 °C by chemical vapour deposition method. Upon pyrolysis, this catalyst precursors yield catalyst nanoparticles directly. The sodium chloride was used as a catalyst support, it was chosen because of its non-toxic and water soluble nature. Problems, such as the detrimental effect of CNFs, the detrimental effects on the environment and even cost, have been avoided by using a water soluble support. The structure of products was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The purity of the grown products and purified products were determined by the thermal analysis and X-ray diffraction method. Here we report the 7600, 7000 and 6500 wt% yield of CNFs synthesized over nickel, cobalt and iron oxalate. The long, curved and worm shaped CNFs were obtained on Ni, Co and Fe catalysts respectively. The lengthy process of calcination and reduction for the preparation of catalysts is avoided in this method. This synthesis route is simple and economical, hence, it can be used for CNF synthesis in industries. © 2012 Rajarao and Bhat.Item Structural characterization of nano-crystalline Co3O4 ultra-fine fibers obtained by sol-gel electrospinning(2013) George, G.; Anandhan, S.In this paper, we report the obtention of ultrafine fibers of cobalt oxide (Co3O4) by combining electrospinning method with high-temperature calcinations from the precursor sol of poly(2-ethyl-2- oxazoline) (PEtOx)/cobalt acetate tetrahydrate [Co(CH3COO) 2·4H2O] in water. The optimum electrospinning conditions for obtaining precursor composite nanofibers from PEtOx/Co(CH 3COO)2·4H2O solution in water, to produce ceramic nanofibers, were studied. The average fiber diameter of the precursor composite fibers measured by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was approximately 200 nm. Thermogravimetric analysis of PEtOx was performed to estimate the suitable calcination temperature of the precursor fibers. SEM images of the ceramic fibers obtained after calcination revealed the shrinkage in diameter due to complete degradation of the polymer and Co(CH 3COO)2·4H2O. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was used to ensure the complete pyrolysis of polymer during calcinations of the composite fibers. Crystalline properties of the ceramic fibers were studied by X-ray diffraction and high resolution transmission electron microscopy. The ceramic fibers are polycrystalline with an average grain size of ?40 nm obtained at a calcination temperature of 773 K. It was observed that the grain sizes increased as the calcination temperature was increased, due to self assembly mechanism. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York.Item Simple glucose reduction route for one-step synthesis of copper nanofluids(Springer Nature, 2014) Shenoy, S.U.; Nityananda Shetty, A.One-step method has been employed in the synthesis of copper nanofluids. Copper nitrate is reduced by glucose in the presence of sodium lauryl sulfate. The synthesized particles are characterized by X-ray diffraction technique for the phase structure; electron diffraction X-ray analysis for chemical composition; transmission electron microscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy for the morphology; Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy for the analysis of ingredients of the solution. Thermal conductivity, sedimentation and rheological measurements have also been carried out. It is found that the reaction parameters have considerable effect on the size of the particle formed and rate of the reaction. The techniques confirm that the synthesized particles are copper. The reported method showed promising increase in the thermal conductivity of the base fluid and is found to be reliable, simple and cost-effective method for preparing heat transfer fluids with higher stability. © 2012, The Author(s).Item Structure-property relationship of sol-gel electrospun ZnO nanofibers developed for ammonia gas sensing(Academic Press Inc. apjcs@harcourt.com, 2014) Senthil, T.; Anandhan, S.Zinc oxide (ZnO) based nanomaterials have been used in various gas sensors due to the wide band gap (3.37. eV), large exciton binding energy and high mobility of charge carriers of ZnO. In this work, nanocrystalline ZnO nanofiber mats were synthesized through combined sol-gel electrospinning techniques followed by calcination, in which poly(styrene- co-acrylonitrile) and zinc acetate were used as the binder and precursor, respectively. Average diameter of the ZnO nanofibers decreased from 400 to 60. nm, while their grain size and crystallinity were enhanced by increasing the calcination temperature. Morphology and structure of the ZnO nanofiber mats were characterized by high resolution transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. ZnO nanofiber mats were found to be superhydrophilic (contact angle was close to 0°) by contact angle measurements. The sensitivity of these ZnO nanofibers in detecting gaseous ammonia was tested using an indigenous set up. Due to their high surface area and superhydrophility, these ZnO nanofiber mats were highly sensitive in sensing gaseous ammonia and the sensitivity of these mats increased as a function of their calcination temperatures. © 2014 Elsevier Inc.Item Preparation and performance studies of polysulfone-sulfated nano-titania (S-TiO2) nanofiltration membranes for dye removal(Royal Society of Chemistry, 2015) Pereira, V.R.; Isloor, A.M.; Bhat, K.U.; A.F., A.F.; AlObaid, A.; Fun, H.-K.Polysulfone nanofiltration membranes containing sulfated nano-titania (S-TiO2) were fabricated, with the aim to enhance the membrane properties along with the possible rejection of Methylene Blue (MB) dye by membranes. Initially S-TiO2 was synthesized from nano TiO2 by the action of sulfuric acid. The synthesized S-TiO2 was characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Energy Dispersive Spectrophotometry (EDS) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) analysis. S-TiO2 was added in increasing concentrations into the membranes and its effect on the performance of the membranes was evaluated. The synthesized membranes were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). Polysulfone membranes containing S-TiO2 showed enhancement in properties in terms of hydrophilicity, water uptake, mechanical strength, improved pure water flux (PWF), antifouling nature and high Flux Recovery Ratio (FRR). The polysulfone membranes with S-TiO2 showed 99% rejection for BSA (Bovine Serum Albumin) protein molecules during BSA filtration. The prepared membranes were used for the removal of MB dye from aqueous solutions. A maximum of 90.4% rejection was obtained for MB for the membrane having 2.0 wt% of S-TiO2 under UV light radiation. This approach showed that polysulfone-S-TiO2 membranes displayed good efficiency for dye removal and can be effectively used for the removal of MB dye from aqueous solutions under suitable conditions. © The Royal Society of Chemistry.Item Morphological and structural characterisation of sol-gel electrospun Co3O4 nanofibres and their electro-catalytic behaviour(Royal Society of Chemistry, 2015) George, G.; Elias, L.; Hegde, A.C.; Anandhan, S.Evolution of hydrogen and oxygen are a crucial part of many renewable energy systems. The replacement of the essential and expensive components in such systems can reduce the capital cost and improve the effectiveness of those systems. In this study, Co3O4 nanofibres were fabricated from sol-gel assisted electrospun poly(styrene-co-acrylonitrile)/cobalt acetate tetrahydrate precursor composite fibres. The morphological and compositional features of the Co3O4 nanofibres obtained after calcination of the precursor nanofibers were studied using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The results of X-ray diffraction study and Raman spectroscopy revealed that the average grain size of the fibres increased with the calcination temperature. Clear evidence of defects in the fibres was observed in ultraviolet-visible-near infrared and energy dispersive spectroscopic measurements. The electrocatalytic behaviour of Co3O4 nanofibres obtained at different calcination temperatures was studied using them for the water splitting reaction in an alkaline medium. The maximum efficiency in the hydrogen evolution reaction was achieved using the Co3O4 nanofibres obtained at the lowest calcination temperature, which had the highest surface area and the smallest grain size. © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2015.