Overview

The contemporary requirement of obtaining sustainable amounts of energy in an environmentally acceptable manner provides a unique challenge and hence, great opportunity for chemical engineers and scientists. The research focus of our group is on the elucidation of physico-chemical principles which aid in the design and fabrication of materials and devices that are useful in converting various forms of energy in an environmentally sustainable manner. Elucidation of these underlying principles often involves a semi-quantitative description of phenomena that span a wide range of length and time scales. In this context, experimental and computational analysis is made using a wide variety of tools like reactivity trends in catalytic reactors, current-voltage characteristics, measurement of electrochemical response to the solar spectrum, characterization by chemical and electrochemical spectroscopy, quantum chemical density functional theory, molecular dynamics, Monte Carlo methods and continuum transport equations. Most of research projects involve an integrated experimental and phenomenological analysis as such an approach is often imperative in addressing complex energy conversion and storage systems.

Recent Publications
  • Sahu, Arti, Sivakumar, Pala, Raj Ganesh, Selective Mesitylene Oxidative Coupling Reaction by Metastructured Electrocatalyst Comprised of Carbonaceous Scaffold Coated with Pd Derived from Zeolitic Imidazole Framework, Catalysis Letters, AUG 2020.

  • A. Upadhyay, D. Behara, G. Sharma, A. Bajpai, N. Sharac, R. Ragan, R. Pala and S. Sivakumar, “Generic Process for Highly Stable Metallic Nanoparticle-Semiconductor Heterostructures via “Click” Chemistry for Electro/Photocatalytic Applications”,ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 5, 9554 (2013). , ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 5, 9554 (2013).

  • M. Pandey and R. G. S. Pala, “Hydroxylation induced stabilization of near-surface rocksalt nanostructure on wurtzite ZnO structure”, J. Chem. Phys., 138, 224701 (2013).

  • P. Gangwar, M. Pandey, S. Sivakumar, R.G.S. Pala and G. Parthasarathy, "Increased Loading of Eu3+ Ions in Monazite LaVO4 Nanocrystals via Pressure-Driven Phase Transitions”, Cryst. Growth Des., DOI:10.1021/cg3018908 (2013).

  • M. Pandey and R.G.S. Pala, "Stabilization of non-native Rocksalt CdSe at atmospheric pressures by pseudomorphic growth”, J. Phys. Chem. C , 117 (15), 7643–7647 (2013).

  • A. Bajpai, V.S. Chandel, R.G.S. Pala, "Advances in solid acid electrolytes for fuel cell applications”, Nanomaterials and Energy ,1, 5,265 –279 (2012). (DOI: 10.1680/nme.12.00016)

  • M. Pandey and R. G.S. Pala, "Stabilization and growth of non-native nanocrystals at low and atmospheric pressures”, J. Chem. Phys., 136, 044703 (2012).

  • A. Helman and R. G. S. Pala, "A First-Principles Study of Photo-Induced Water-Splitting on Fe2O3 ”, J. Phys. Chem. C 115(26), 12901-12907 (2011).