Faculty Publications
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Item Electron irradiation effects on optical properties of semiorganic antimony thiourea tetra chloride single crystals(2012) Mahesha Upadhya, K.; Udayashankar, N.K.; Ganesh, S.Antimony thiourea tetra chloride single crystals were grown by solution growth technique at room temperature. The UV-visible, fourier transform infrared and fluorescence spectra were recorded and electron irradiation effects on these properties were studied. The optical absorption edge of the UV-visible spectrum slightly shifts towards longer wavelength with the increase of irradiation dose. The fluorescence quantum yield is decreased for electron irradiated antimony thiourea tetra chloride crystals. The presence of functional group of the as-grown and electron irradiated complex was confirmed by fourier transform infrared spectral study. © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Item A marine chitinase from Bacillus aryabhattai with antifungal activity and broad specificity toward crystalline chitin degradation(Taylor and Francis Ltd., 2022) Subramani, A.K.; Raval, R.; Sundareshan, S.; Sivasengh, R.; Raval, K.Chitinases convert chitin into chitin oligomers and are also known antifungal agents. Chitin oligomers have numerous industrial applications. However, chitin’s crystalline nature requires pretreatment before breakdown into oligomers. In the study, a novel marine bacterium Bacillus aryabhattai is isolated from the Arabian Sea. Bacterial growth in different crystalline chitin substrates like chitin powder, chitin flakes, and colloidal chitin confirmed the chitinase presence in bacterium could act upon insoluble crystalline chitin with the fractional release of oligomers. The domain architecture analysis of the chitinase confirmed the presence of two N-terminal LysM domains which help enzyme action on crystalline chitin. Statistical optimization of media and Process parameters revealed glycerol, yeast extract, magnesium chloride, and manganese sulfate as significant media components along with colloidal chitin. The optimum process parameters such as pH 7, temperature 40 °C, inoculum size 12.5% (v/v), and inoculum age 20 hours enhanced the specific enzyme activity to ±146.2 U/mL, ±114.9 U/mL and ±175.4 U/mL against chitin powder, chitin flakes and colloidal chitin respectively, which is five to six times higher than basal level activity. The antifungal activity of chitinase against plant pathogenic fungi like Candida albicans and Fusarium oxysporum revealed a zone of inhibition with 14 mm diameter. © 2022 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.Item Synthesis of sustainable chemicals from waste tea powder and Polystyrene via Microwave-Assisted in-situ catalytic Co-Pyrolysis: Analysis of pyrolysis using experimental and modeling approaches(Elsevier Ltd, 2022) Suriapparao, D.V.; Sridevi, V.; Ramesh, R.; Sankar Rao, C.S.; Tukarambai, M.; Kamireddi, D.; Gautam, R.; Dharaskar, S.A.; Pritam, K.In the current study, catalytic co-pyrolysis was performed on waste tea powder (WTP) and polystyrene (PS) wastes to convert them into value-added products using KOH catalyst. The feed mixture influenced the heating rates (17–75 °C/min) and product formation. PS promoted the formation of oil and WTP enhanced the char formation. The maximum oil yield (80 wt%) was obtained at 15 g:5 g, and the maximum char yield (44 wt%) was achieved at 5 g:25 g (PS:WTP). The pyrolysis index (PI) increased with the increase in feedstock quantity. High PI was noticed at 25 g:5 g, and low PI was at 5 g:5 g (PS:WTP). Low energy consumption and low pyrolysis time enhanced the PI value. Significant interactions were noticed during co-pyrolysis. The obtained bio-oil was analyzed using GC–MS and a plausible reaction mechanism is presented. Catalyst and co-pyrolysis synergy promoted the formation of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons by reducing the oxygenated products. © 2022 Elsevier LtdItem The role of solvent soaking and pretreatment temperature in microwave-assisted pyrolysis of waste tea powder: Analysis of products, synergy, pyrolysis index, and reaction mechanism(Elsevier Ltd, 2022) Talib Hamzah, H.; Sridevi, V.; Seereddi, M.; Suriapparao, D.V.; Ramesh, R.; Sankar Rao, C.S.; Gautam, R.; Kaka, F.; Pritam, K.This study focuses on microwave-assisted pyrolysis (MAP) of fresh waste tea powder and torrefied waste tea powder as feedstocks. Solvents including benzene, acetone, and ethanol were used for soaking feedstocks. The feedstock torrefaction temperature (at 150 °C) and solvents soaking enhanced the yields of char (44.2–59.8 wt%) and the oil (39.8–45.3 wt%) in MAP. Co-pyrolysis synergy induced an increase in the yield of gaseous products (4.7–20.1 wt%). The average heating rate varied in the range of 5–25 °C/min. The energy consumption in MAP of torrefied feedstock (1386 KJ) significantly decreased compared to fresh (3114 KJ). The pyrolysis index dramatically varied with the solvent soaking in the following order: ethanol (26.7) > benzene (25.6) > no solvent (10) > acetone (6). It shows that solvent soaking plays an important role in the pyrolysis process. The obtained bio-oil was composed of mono-aromatics, poly-aromatics, and oxygenated compounds. © 2022 Elsevier LtdItem An Investigation into the Relative Efficacy of High-Velocity Air-Fuel-Sprayed Hydroxyapatite Implants Based on the Crystallinity Index, Residual Stress, Wear, and In-Flight Powder Particle Behavior(American Chemical Society, 2023) Jagadeeshanayaka, N.; Kele, S.N.; Jambagi, S.C.Due to its resemblance to the bone, hydroxyapatite (HA) has been widely used for bioactive surface modification of orthopedic implants. However, it undergoes significant thermal decomposition and phase transformations at a high operating temperature, leading to premature implant failure. This investigation uses high-velocity air-fuel (HVAF) spray, an emerging low-temperature thermal spray technique, to deposit HA over the Ti-6Al-4V substrate. Coating characteristics, such as the crystallinity index and phase analysis, were measured using X-ray diffraction, Raman analysis, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, residual stress using the sin2ψ method, and tribological performance by a fretting wear test. The coating retained an over 90% crystallinity index, a crystallite size of 41.04 nm, a compressive residual stress of −229 ± 34.5 MPa, and a wear rate of 1.532 × 10-3 mm3 N-1 m-1. Computational in-flight particle traits of HA particles (5 to 60 μm) were analyzed using computational fluid dynamics; it showed that 90% of particles were deposited at a 700 to 1000 m/s velocity and a 900 to 1450 K temperature with a 2.1 ms mean residence time. In-flight particle oxidation was minimized, and particle impact deformation was maximized, which caused severe plastic deformation, forming crystalline, compressive residual stressed coatings. The thermal decomposition model of low-temperature HVAF-sprayed HA particles helped to understand the implants’ crystallinity index, residual stress, and tribological characteristics. Hence, this experimental and computational analysis shows that the HVAF process can be a promising candidate for biomedical applications for having strong and durable implants. © 2023 American Chemical Society.Item Engineering a recombinant chitinase from the marine bacterium Bacillus aryabhattai with targeted activity on insoluble crystalline chitin for chitin oligomer production(Elsevier B.V., 2024) Subramani, A.K.; Ramachandra, R.; Thote, S.; Govindaraj, V.; Vanzara, P.; Raval, R.; Raval, K.Chitin, an abundant polysaccharide in India, is primary by-product of the seafood industry. Efficiently converting chitin into valuable products is crucial. Chitinase, transforms chitin into chitin oligomers, holds significant industrial potential. However, the crystalline and insoluble nature of chitin makes the conversion process challenging. In this study, a recombinant chitinase from marine bacteria Bacillus aryabhattai was developed. This enzyme exhibits activity against insoluble chitin substrates, chitin powder and flakes. The chitinase gene was cloned into the pET 23a plasmid and transformed into E. coli Rosetta pLysS. IPTG induction was employed to express chitinase, and purification using Ni-NTA affinity chromatography. Optimal chitinase activity against colloidal chitin was observed in Tris buffer at pH 8, temperature 55°C, with the presence of 400 mM sodium chloride. Enzyme kinetics studies revealed a Vmax of 2000 μmole min−1 and a Km of 4.6 mg mL−1. The highest chitinase activity against insoluble chitin powder and flakes reached 875 U mg−1 and 625 U mg−1, respectively. The chitinase demonstrated inhibition of Candida albicans, Fusarium solani, and Penicillium chrysogenum growth. Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) and LC-MS analysis confirmed the production of chitin oligomers, chitin trimer, tetramer, pentamer, and hexamer, from chitin powder and flakes using recombinant chitinase. © 2024 Elsevier B.V.Item Probing the influence of strontium doping and annealing temperature on the structure and biocompatibility of hydroxyapatite nanorods(Royal Society of Chemistry, 2024) Patil, H.G.; Rajendran, A.; Lenka, N.; Kumar, B.S.; Murugesan, S.; Anandhan, S.Among numerous biologically important metal cations, strontium (Sr2+) has received much attention in bone tissue regeneration because of its osteoinductive properties combined with its ability to inhibit osteoclast activity. In this study, strontium-doped hydroxyapatite (Sr-HAp) nanorods with varying molar ratios of Ca : Sr (10 : 0, 9 : 1, 5 : 5, 3 : 7 and 0 : 10) were synthesized using the chemical precipitation technique. The synthesized Sr-HAp nanostructures were characterized using powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and Raman and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopies to understand their structural and morphological features, and composition. XRD results revealed the formation of HAp nanostructures, whose unit cell volume increased as a function of the dopant level. The reaction process investigation showed the formation of hydroxyapatite (HAp), strontium apatite (SAp) and various Sr-HAp phases. FESEM micrographs displayed the morphological transformation of Sr-HAp from nanorods to nanosheets upon increasing the dopant level. In the FTIR spectra, the bands of the PO43− group shifted towards a lower wavenumber upon increasing the dopant concentration in Sr-HAp that signifies the structural distortion due to the presence of a large amount of strontium ions. The peaks of PO43− and OH− vibrations in the Raman spectra were further analysed to corroborate the structural distortion of Sr-HAp. Selected area electron diffraction patterns obtained using TEM reveal the reduced crystallinity of Sr-HAp due to Sr-doping, which is in line with the XRD results. Finally, the MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay showed that the synthesized Sr-HAp has no toxic effect on the survival and growth of mesenchymal stem cells. In summary, the synthesized novel Sr-HAp nanorods exhibit great promise for bone tissue engineering applications. © 2024 The Royal Society of Chemistry.Item A review on the role of various machine learning algorithms in microwave-assisted pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass waste(Academic Press, 2024) Mafat, I.H.; Surya, D.V.; Sankar Rao, C.S.; Kandya, A.; Basak, T.The fourth industrial revolution will heavily rely on machine learning (ML). The rationale is that these strategies make various business operations in many sectors easier. ML modeling is the discovery of hidden patterns between multiple process parameters and accurately predicting the test values. ML has provided a wide range of applications in Chemical Engineering. One major application of ML can be found in the microwave-assisted pyrolysis (MAP) of lignocellulose bio-waste. MAP is an energy-efficient technology to obtain high-saturated hydrogen-rich liquid fuels. The main focus of this review study is understanding the utilization of various types of ML algorithms, including supervised and unsupervised techniques in microwave-assisted heating techniques for diverse biomass feedstocks, including waste materials like used tea powder, wood blocks, kraft lignin, and others. In addition to developing effective ML-based models, alternative traditional modeling approaches are also explored. In addition to various thermochemical conversion processes for biomass, MAP is also briefly reviewed with several case studies from the literature. The conventional modeling methodology for biomass pyrolysis with microwave heating is also discussed for comparison with ML-based modeling methodologies. © 2024 Elsevier LtdItem Non-reactive biochar and Bacillus pumilus RSB17-based healing powder: A sustainable solution for enhanced bacterial viability in self-healing mortar(Elsevier B.V., 2025) Anoop, P.P.; Palanisamy, T.Existing mortar uses self-healing powders that are based on mineral admixtures, whose reactive nature negatively impacts bacterial viability and diminishes their effectiveness over time. This study aims to develop non-reactive, sustainable biochar-based healing powders with extended bacterial viability to serve as self-healing admixture in bio-mortar. Biochar from coconut husk, coconut shell, and coconut leaf petiole was evaluated for compatibility with Bacillus pumilus RSB17, emphasizing bacterial growth and calcium carbonate precipitation. Coconut shell biochar demonstrated superior performance and was used to formulate a microbial biochar healing powder. Another healing powder was prepared by lyophilizing the bacterial spore solution without protectants. The shelf life was evaluated for 180 days at 4 °C and 25 °C, demonstrating that microbial biochar healing powder at 4 °C maintained bacterial viability above the 4.5 log CFU/g threshold necessary for effective calcium carbonate precipitation, while lyophilized spore powder stored at 25 °C dropped below the threshold at 90 days. Microbial biochar healing powder stored at 4 °C for 180 days was integrated into the mortar, which healed crack width up to 0.80 mm at 56 days under submerged rainwater maintained at 27 °C ± 2 °C and 85 % ± 5 % relative humidity. Electrical resistivity decreased from 28.16 ?·m to 21.35 ?·m, the permeability coefficient dropped from 153.90 mm/s to 0 mm/s, and compressive strength regained 90.53 %, which collectively indicated enhanced self-healing. Microstructural analysis confirmed the stable cuboid calcite crystals with a crystallite size of 86.62 nm. Thus, Microbial biochar healing powder produced from coconut shell biochar and Bacillus pumilus RSB17 and stored at 4 °C is an effective self-healing admixture for bio-mortar applications with a minimum storage period of 180 days. © 2025 Elsevier B.V.Item Wear and frictional behaviour of partially oxidized and plasma sprayed NiCr and NiCrBSiFe coatings(Nature Research, 2025) Medabalimi, S.; Rokkala, U.; Gudala, S.; Behera, N.; Ramesh, M.R.; Dejene, M.The wear performance of partially oxidized NiCr and NiCrBSiFe coatings were investigated by varing load and speed. The partial oxidized powders were processed from the alloy powder using a flame spray process that involved spraying into distilled water. The partially oxidized powder was then plasma-sprayed onto MDN321 steel. The coatings were characterized for adhesive strength, microhardness, and density. The wear behavior was evaluated at disc speeds of 1, 2, and 3 m/s, with loads ranging from 10 to 50 N, over a 3000 m sliding distance. A significant difference in wear rates between the coating and substrate was observed. Operating at a sliding velocity of 1 m/s under a 10 N load, the substrate’s wear rate was found to be 3.56 times higher than that of the NiCrBSiFe coating, whereas for NiCr coating, it was 2.78 times higher. Wear rate coefficient performance shift takes place between the coatings at 12 N-m/s, product of applied load (C) and sliding velocity (V). In NiCrBSiFe coating, the wear mechanism observed at lower speeds and loads is micro-brittle and mechanism shifts to abrasive wear at higher speeds and loads. In the NiCr partially oxidized coating, the wear mechanism observed involves spallation of the coating at higher loads and adhesive wear at lower loads. Thermo gravimetric analysis of the coatings revealed a weight loss percentage of 1.42 for NiCrBSiFe and 14.09 for NiCr coatings. These findings highlight the NiCrBSiFe partially oxidized coating as being tenfold more stable at high temperatures compared to the NiCr partially oxidized coating. © The Author(s) 2025.