Suchithra Padmajan Sasikala

We report graphene@polymer core-shell fibers (G@PFs) composed of N and Cu codoped porous graphene fiber cores uniformly coated with semiconducting polymer shell layers with superb electrochemical characteristics. Aqueous/organic interface-confined polymerization method produced robust highly crystalline uniform semiconducting polymer shells with high electrical conductivity and redox activity. When the resultant core-shell fibers are utilized for fiber supercapacitor application, high areal/volu

Many promising graphene-based materials are kept away from mainstream applications due to problems of scalability and environmental concerns in their processing. Hydro-/solvothermal techniques overwhelmingly satisfy both the aforementioned criteria, and have matured as alternatives to wet-chemical methods with advances made over the past few decades. The insolubility of graphene in many solvents poses considerable difficulties in their processing. In this context hydro-/solvothermal techniques p

Supercritical-fluids science and technology predate all the approaches that are currently established for graphene production by several decades in advanced materials design. However, it has only recently been proposed as a plausible approach for graphene processing. Since then, supercritical fluids have emerged into contention as an alternative to existing technologies because of their scalability and versatility in processing graphene materials, which include composites, aerogels, and foams. H

This paper rationalizes the green and scalable synthesis of graphenic materials of different aspect ratios using anthracite coal as a single source material under different supercritical environments. Single layer, monodisperse graphene oxide quantum dots (GQDs) are obtained at high yield (55 wt %) from anthracite coal in supercritical water. The obtained GQDs are ∼3 nm in lateral size and display a high fluorescence quantum yield of 28%. They show high cell viability and are readily used for im

We report the exfoliation of graphite and simultaneous N doping of graphene by two methods: supercritical ammonia treatment and liquid-phase exfoliation with NH₄OH. While the supercritical ammonia allowed N doping at a level of 6.4 atom % in 2 h, the liquid-phase exfoliation with NH₄OH allowed N doping at a level of 2.7 atom % in 6 h. The N doped graphene obtained via the supercritical ammonia route had few layers (<5) and showed large lateral flake size (∼8 μm) and low def

This study reports the activity difference of zinc oxide modified bentonite clay (Photo-Zn-Bent) photocatalyst when in contact with different environmentally toxic pollutants in a single component and bi-component pollutant systems. The layered structure of purified and swollen nano-bentonite clay (Bent) has tunable interlayer spacing to grow zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles, thereby integrating the adsorbing nature of clay and semiconductor property of ZnO in one hierarchical structure. Initial a

Air pollution is on the priority list of global safety issues, with the concern of fatal environmental and public health deterioration. 2D materials are potential adsorbent materials for environmental decontamination, owing to their high surface area, manageable interlayer binding, large surface-to-volume ratio, specific binding capability, and chemical, thermal, and mechanistic stability. Specifically, graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide have been attracting attention, taking advantage of

Recent consecutive discoveries of various 2D materials have triggered significant scientific and technological interests owing to their exceptional material properties, originally stemming from 2D confined geometry. Ever-expanding library of 2D materials can provide ideal solutions to critical challenges facing in current technological trend of the fourth industrial revolution. Moreover, chemical modification of 2D materials to customize their physical/chemical properties can satisfy the broad s

Unzipping of the basal plane offers a valuable pathway to uniquely control the material chemistry of 2D structures. Nonetheless, reliable unzipping has been reported only for graphene and phosphorene thus far. The single elemental nature of those materials allows a straightforward understanding of the chemical reaction and property modulation involved with such geometric transformations. Here we report spontaneous linear ordered unzipping of bi-elemental 2D MX₂ transition metal chalco

Air pollution by particulate matter (PM) and airborne pathogens causes severe health problems in the human body. Presently, popular disposable air filters yield huge waste and have a fatal impact on the environment. Postuse cleaning of air filters also leads to secondary air and water pollution. Here, we report a sunlight-driven self-cleaning PM filter by coupling a full-solar-spectrum-active photocatalyst comprising up-conversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) decorated with semiconductor iron(III) oxid