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Research Projects
Phase Change Materials (PCM)-based Thermoregulating Textiles
In this industry-partnered research, we aim to develop phase change materials (PCM) that activate at extremely higher (45 deg C) and extremely lower (10 deg C) temperatures. The fabrics coated with the proposed PCM will keep a person at a cooler temperature in a warm/hot environment. On the other hand, the fabrics can also keep a person warm in a colder climate. Our group develops indigenous PCM formulations to tailor the thermal properties such as activation temperature, heat storage capacity, and heat release kinetics. The industry partner of the project is equipped to take lab-scale innovations to commercial production.
This work is supported by the Ministry of Textiles via National Technical Textile Mission.
Electrocatalyst Nanomaterials for PEM Fuel Cells
PEM Fuel cells use hydrogen and oxygen/air as reactants and convert the chemical energy into electrical energy via hydrogen oxidation and oxygen reduction reactions. Typically, the electrodes of a fuel cell consist of Pt nanoparticles supported on carbon black (electrocatalyst), which enhance the reaction rates. However, Pt is a scarce and expensive metal; thus, reducing its loading or completely replacing it with an abundant and cheap metal would be advantageous. Our group develops Pt, Pd, Pt-Co, Pt-Mo, and Pt-Ni nanoparticles using the process intensification approach of sonochemistry and a continuous flow microreactor. We also in-house fabricate the PEM fuel cell and stacks to demonstrate the commercial feasibility of our materials.
This work is supported by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).
Electrically Conductive Adhesives (ECA) and Inks
Electrically Conductive Adhesives (ECAs) are the latest generation of electronic packaging materials, which is a medium to distribute the current to various components on the circuit board, manage the heat produced in the circuit, and protect the components' mechanical integrity. Our group develops various electrically conducting nanomaterials such as nano silver, nano copper, and conducting polymers. Further, these nanomaterials are used in thermoset adhesives and thermoplastic inks. We adopt continuous flow synthesis methods that can be scaled up for commercial production. The capabilities of the developed adhesives and inks are tested for PCB printing, circuit printing on flexible substrates, and wearable electronics platform. Our lab hosts several specialized equipment for the above-mentioned fabrication and characterization.
This work is supported by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) for Water Treatment
Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are highly-efficient methods to accelerate the oxidation and degradation of a wide range of emerging contaminants (textile dyes, pigments, perfluoro, pharmaceuticals, etc.). AOPs use highly reactive hydroxyl and sulfate radicals to degrade or mineralize the pollutant molecules chemically. We primarily use the hydrodynamic cavitation method and integrate it with various radical-generating techniques, such as Fenton reagent, ultrasound, UV light, ozone, etc., in the form of reactors and membranes. Our group has developed lab-scale and pilot-scale prototypes for the treatment of complex textile wastewater.
This work is partly supported by DST iHub - AWaDH (Agriculture & Water Technology Development Hub) of IIT Ropar.
Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) for Separation and Catalytic Applications
Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) are crystalline materials containing metal ions coordinated to organic ligands forming a porous 3D network. MOFs have exceptional surface area and porosity that can help to remove contaminants from water, to selectively separate gases, and to host catalytic materials. Our group focuses on engineering the pore characteristics of MOFs to make them suitable for adsorptive water treatment, carbon dioxide and hydrogen separation/purification, and electrochemical energy conversion and storage. We further translate the synthesis know-how into applications such as fixed-bed adsorption columns and electrochemical devices containing MOF-based materials.
This work is partly supported by IIT Ropar via ISIRD grant.
Multifunctional Nanocomposite Membranes for Water Treatment
Securing adequate water resources of desired quality is one of the grand technological challenges. Basic polymer-based membranes are widely used for water treatment due to ease of pore formation, higher flexibility, and facile installation. We mainly adopt three approaches for membrane fabrication – phase inversion, interfacial polymerization, and electrospinning. These fabrication techniques allow us to prepare ultrafiltration and nanofiltration membranes. Nanoparticles and porous materials are embedded in a polymeric matrix to alter surface properties (wettability, charge density, antibacterial, temperature-resistant, etc.) and to enhance mechanical and thermal properties. We evaluate our in-house developed membranes using cross-flow filtration and dead-end filtration techniques.
This work is supported by IIT Ropar via ISIRD grant.
Our research group is funded by:
