Research Areas
Electrochemistry and Materials Science
Water Electrolysis
The major part of our research is focused on developing novel electrocatalyst materials for efficient water splitting for H2 production as clean fuel. The process involves in-depth analysis to understand key insights revolve around different mechanisms including hydrogen evolution and oxidation, oxygen evolution and reduction etc. Our approach is to rational design of electrocatalysts for controlled activity, selectivity, and stability by combining catalyst synthesis and electrochemical performance testing with physical and chemical characterization. We further explore the performance evaluation of developed electrocatalysts in electrolyzer device for continuous H2 production and practical evaluation.
Seawater Electrolysis
A considerable amount of efforts are invested for much important seawater splitting establishing effective yet sustainable process by electrocatalyst as well as electrolyte engineering for green H2 generation over long run. The study was mostly focused on restricting very challenging chloride corrosion during direct seawater electrolysis. We further investigate electrolyzer performances with our established formulation taking the fundamental science from lab level towards industrial implementation.
Electrochemical Oxidation Reaction
The efficient way of H2 production can also be achieved by coupling of the electrochemical oxidation of small molecules in place of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) at the anode and the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) at the cathode. Identification of small molecules with much lower oxidation potential, which are often available in waste effluent can reduce the overall cell voltage considerably, making the electrochemical H2 production much viable accompanied by safe degradation and disposal of pollutant molecules. Our studies further explored in electrolyzer device to understand the practicability and possible economic and energy saving ability.
Electrochemical Reduction Reaction
The mitigation strategy towards net zero carbon emission has been taken the front lead considering current worrisome environmental status. The electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) to convert CO2 into high-value chemicals and fuels, thereby enabling sustainable carbon fixation is a much needed topic. Further, ammonia (NH3), being a potential H2 carrier, is often produced the Haber–Bosch process which consumes substantial energy and contributes to enormous CO2 emission. The electrocatalytic reduction of NOx species (NO3−, NO2−, or NO) to NH3 is considered to be a desirable technique due to its advantages such as flexibility, low power consumption, sustainability, and environmental friendliness. We develop electrocatalysts for such electrochemical reduction reaction to carry out efficiently as well as selectively. The studies on flow cell device for continuous production of such value-added products are also underway.
