Energy efficient electrodes for lithium-ion batteries: Recovered and processed from spent primary batteries.

In an attempt to develop low cost, energy efficient and advanced electrode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), waste-to-wealth derived as well as value added spent battery materials as potential alternatives assume paramount importance. By combining the low lithiation potential advantages, one can arrive at energy efficient electrodes bestowed with cost effective and eco-friendly benefits required for practical LIB applications. In the present study, Zn and Mn-salts along with C were successfully extracted from the spent zinc carbon batteries through a simple and efficient hydrometallurgy approach and decomposed thermally to obtain ZnMnO at 350 °C for 12 h and 450 °C for 3 h.

New approach for the transformation of metallic waste into nanostructured FeO and SnO-FeO heterostructure and their application in treatment of organic pollutant.

Appropriate recycling of waste to reusable materials is much sought after in the scientific community to control the incessant rising pollution in environment due to insufficient management of waste materials. To address this issue, efforts were directed to obtain SnO-FeO nanocomposites from scrap tin plated steel and the use of these composites for the degradation of organic pollutant. We have demonstrated a novel, efficient and facile hydrometallurgy approach for the extraction of iron from waste tin plated steel containers found in plenty in the common waste generated in society.

New catanionic surfactants, phase stability and synthesis of ultrafine CdS nanoparticles.

A systematic study on the water-intake capacity of the microemulsion formed using a catanionic surfactant (synthesized by taking equimolar mixture of acid and amine) with varying hydrocarbon chain length of the acid has been carried out. A decrease in the water-intake capacity with increase in the chain length was observed. Shorter chain length of co-surfactant (1-butanol compared to 1-octanol) led to higher water-intake capacity of microemulsions which may also be attributed to the high hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) of 1-butanol.