Publications by authors named "Muthukonda V Shankar"

Sustainable valorization of industrial and solid wastes by utilizing them as feedstock to generate H via the photocatalytic reforming (PR) process holds great promise. It can also be an effective method to treat solid waste that otherwise would require tedious and expensive processes. This approach has the potential to offer energy solutions and form value-added chemicals.

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Design and development of the efficient and durable photocatalyst that generates H fuel utilizing industrial wastewater under solar light irradiation is a sustainable process. Innumerable photocatalysts have been reported for efficient H production, but their large-scale production with the same efficiency of H production is a challenging task. In this study, a few gram-scale syntheses of ZnS wrapped with NiO hierarchical core-shell nanostructure via the surfactant-mediated process has been reported.

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Metal chalcogenides play a vital role in the conversion of solar energy into hydrogen fuel. Hydrogen fuel technology can possibly tackle the future energy crises by replacing carbon fuels such as petroleum, diesel and kerosene, owning to zero emission carbon-free gas and eco-friendliness. Metal chalcogenides are classified into narrow band gap (CdS, CuS, BiS MoS CdSe and MoSe) materials and wide band gap materials (ZnS, ZnSe and ZnTe).

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This investigation is first to elucidate the synthesis of mono-dispersed ZnS/NiO-core/shell nanostructures with a uniform thin layer of NiO-shell on the ZnS-nanospheres as a core under controlled thermal treatments. NiO-shell thickness varied to 8.2, 12.

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Lignocellulosic biomass has become an important sustainable resource for fuels, chemicals and energy. It is an attractive source for alternative fuels and green chemicals because it is non-edible and widely available in the planet in huge volumes. The use of biomass as starting material to produce fuels and chemicals leads to closed carbon cycle and promotes circular economy.

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Herein, we report the optimization of nitrogen (N) doping in TiO nanotubes to achieve the enhanced photocatalytic efficiencies in degradation of dye and H gas evolution under solar light exposure. TiO nanotubes have been produced via hydrothermal process and N doping has been tuned by varying the concentration of urea, being the source for N, by solid-state dispersion process. The structural analysis using XRD showed the characteristic occupancy of N into the structure of TiO and the XPS studies showed the existence of Ti-N-Ti network in the N-doped TiO nanotubes.

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Direct conversion of solar energy into clean fuels is emerging as an efficient way for the future energy generation and solving environmental issues. Especially, photocatalytic splitting of water into H under solar light irradiation is one of the best techniques for clean energy production. Also, decomposition of organic pollutants using solar light is an urgent need to protect the environment.

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The development of noble metal-free catalysts for hydrogen evolution is required for energy applications. In this regard, ternary heterojunction nanocomposites consisting of ZnO nanoparticles anchored on MoS -RGO (RGO=reduced graphene oxide) nanosheets as heterogeneous catalysts show highly efficient photocatalytic H evolution. In the photocatalytic process, the catalyst dispersed in an electrolytic solution (S and SO ions) exhibits an enhanced rate of H evolution, and optimization experiments reveal that ZnO with 4.

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Herein we report simple, low-cost and scalable preparation of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) supported surfactant-free Cu2O-TiO2 nanocomposite photocatalysts by an ultrasound assisted wet impregnation method. Unlike the conventional preparation techniques, simultaneous reduction of Cu(2+) (in the precursor) to Cu(+) (Cu2O), and graphene oxide (GO) to rGO is achieved by an ultrasonic method without the addition of any external reducing agent; this is ascertained by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses. UV-visible diffused reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) studies (Tauc plots) provide evidence for the loading of Cu2O tailoring the optical band gap of the photocatalyst from 3.

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Solar light induced interfacial charge transfer of electrons from TiO2 to CuO in a water-glycerol mixture produced 99,823 μmol h(-1) g(-1)catalyst of hydrogen gas. The dispersed CuO/TiO2 photocatalyst in solution exhibited uni-directional electron flow and capture at the Schottky barrier facilitating charge separation and electron transfer resulting in enhanced H2 production performance.

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A sol-gel hydrothermal method was developed to synthesize peroxo-titania powders and their photooxidation performances were conducted in aqueous methanol solution under visible light irradiation. Three kinds of peroxo-titania were developed using TiO(2) and H(2)O(2) containing precursor sol with different dispersion mediums such as NH(3) aq NaOH aq, or pure water. Peroxo-titania powder prepared with NH(3) aq showed highest photooxidation activity.

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Photocatalytic degradation of monocrotophos has been carried out in a slurry type batch reactor. The reaction variables were optimised to obtain maximum degradation efficiency. The degradation rate of monocrotophos is significantly higher for acidic solutions than for alkaline solutions.

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