Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) is a private university located in&nbsp;Tamil Nadu, India. Founded in 1984, as Vellore Engineering College, the institution offers 20 undergraduate, 34 postgraduate, four integrated and four research programs. It has campuses in Vellore, Amravati, Bhopal and Chennai.

VIT is one of the top ranked private universities in India according to NIRF, THE and QS Rankings.&nbsp;Govt. of India has recognized&nbsp;VIT, Vellore as an&nbsp;Institution of Eminence. This has allowed VIT to take independent quality initiatives and move up in world ranking.

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VIT University

Centre for Nanotechnology Research

Magnetic MnFe2O4 with functionalized graphene (MnFe2O4-G) was prepared by solvothermal treatment of inorganic salts with graphene oxide as a starting material. The as- prepared product was then characterized by using X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and Field Emission Scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). FE-SEM observations show that manganous ferrite nanoparticles with sizes of 10-40 nm were well dispersed on graphene sheets. The obtained hybrid was further tested for its photocatalytic activity against malachite green (MG) dye degradation. Results show that the photocatalytic activity of as- prepared product (MnFe2O4-G) has about 67% of dye degradation. This research would provide a new easy separating platform for wastewater decontamination. The combination of the superior adsorption of graphene and the magnetic properties of MnFe2O4 nanoparticles can be used as a good adsorbent and separation tool to deal with water pollution. © 2013 Bentham Science Publishers.

VIT Unitversity

Mathematics

School of Advanced Sciences

Chennai Campus

Vellore Campus

Nanoscience &Nanotechnology-Asia

Solvothermal Preparation of Graphene Supported Mn Ferrites and its Photocatalytic Activity

Computer Science

School of Computer Science and Engineering

International Conference on Advanced Nanomaterials & Emerging Engineering Technologies

Numerical simulation of dry and wet oxidation of Silicon by TCAD Sprocess

The rate of carbon dioxide (CO2) absorption by monoethanol amine (MEA), diethanol amine (DEA), N-methyl-2,2′-iminodiethanol (MDEA), and 2-amino-2-methyl 1-propanol (AMP) solutions was found to be enhanced by the addition of bovine carbonic anhydrase (CA), has been investigated using a vapor-liquid equilibrium (VLE) device. The enthalpy (-ΔHabs) of CO2 absorption and the absorption capacities of aqueous amines were measured in the presence and/or absence of CA enzyme via differential reaction calorimeter (DRC). The reaction temperature (ΔT) under adiabatic conditions was determined based on the DRC analysis. Bicarbonate and carbamate species formation mechanisms were elucidated by 1H and 13C NMR spectral analysis. The overall CO2 absorption rate (flux) and rate constant (kapp) followed the order MEA &gt; DEA &gt; AMP &gt; MDEA in the absence or presence of CA. Hydration of CO2 by MDEA in the presence of CA directly produced bicarbonate, whereas AMP produced unstable carbamate intermediate, then underwent hydrolytic reaction and converted to bicarbonate. The MDEA &gt; AMP &gt; DEA &gt; MEA reverse ordering of the enhanced CO2 flux and kapp in the presence of CA was due to bicarbonate formation by the tertiary and sterically hindered amines. Thus, CA increased the rate of CO2 absorption by MDEA by a factor of 3 relative to the rate of absorption by MDEA alone. The thermal effects suggested that CA yielded a higher activity at 40 C. © 2013 American Chemical Society.

World University root node

The Journal of Physical Chemistry B

Carbonic Anhydrase Promotes the Absorption Rate of CO2in Post-Combustion Processes

Department of Bio-Medical Sciences

School of Bio Sciences and Technology

Advanced Electrochemistry

Electrochemical Determination of Dopamine at Nanoparticles Modified Polymer Electrode—A Brief Study

Model nanocomposite photocatalysts consisting of undoped TiO2 films with optically active Ag or Au nanoparticles (NPs) were designed, fabricated, and examined to address the role of plasmon excitations in their performance. Different composition configurations were tested in which the NPs were either facing the reaction environment or not, and in direct contact or not with TiO2. We found, as measured for the reactions of methanol and ethylene oxidation in two different photoreactors, that composites always show enhanced activity (up to ×100 for some configurations) compared to bare TiO2. We deduced from in situ localized surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy measurements that the interfacial charge transfer from TiO 2 to NPs plays a major role in the activity enhancement for composite configurations where particles are in direct contact with TiO2. Plasmonic near- and far-field effects were only observed when the plasmon resonance energy overlaps with the bandgap energy of undoped TiO2. © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Journal of Catalysis

Effects of plasmon excitation on photocatalytic activity of Ag/TiO 2 and Au/TiO2 nanocomposites

Phenol is one of the most common water pollutants found in industrial effluents. The phenol removal potential of a chemically modified macrofungus Trametes sp., was investigated in a batch system. The effects of particle size, pH, temperature, contact time and biosorbent dosage have been investigated. The optimum conditions for phenol removal were found to be particle size: 150-300 μm, pH: 6.0 and biosorbent dosage: 6 g/L. The rate of biosorption of phenol was found to be rapid during the initial 30 min and equilibrium was established after 4 h. The results of equilibrium isotherm study showed that the data fitted well to Langmuir isotherm model within the concentration range studied (100-500 mg/L). The maximum adsorption capacity of the biosorbent was found to be 39.37 mg/g. Sorption kinetics was well described by pseudo-second-order kinetics. Desorption with 0.1 M NaOH resulted in 87% desorption of phenol from the biosorbent. The present study proved the applicability of Trametes sp., for the removal of phenol from waste waters.

International Journal of Pharma and Bio Sciences

Biosorption of phenol by a chemically treated wild macrofungus: Equilibrium and kinetic study

A simple method is developed for the synthesis of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) using Mo-Co/MgO catalyst by a thermal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technique. Acetylene was used as the source of carbon and nitrogen as carrier gas. A series of MgO supported Mo-Co catalysts were prepared by the combustion route using urea as the fuel at different stoichiometric ratios. It was found that a higher yield of carbon nanotubes was obtained by the developed catalysts. Also, the addition of molybdenum to Co/MgO catalysts could remarkably increase the yield and also improve the quality of CNTs from thermal CVD with acetylene as precursor gas. The morphology of the catalysts and CNTs obtained was studied by field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM). Other techniques like Raman spectroscopy and XRD were also employed to know the physico-chemical properties of the samples.

Journal of Nano Research

Growth of Carbon Nanotubes Using MgO Supported Mo-Co Catalysts by Thermal Chemical Vapor Deposition Technique

Wollastonite is a bioactive material (molecular formula of CaSiO3) that belongs to the class of calcium silicate. It is widely used as a bone regenerative material and as a drug delivery carrier due to its high bioactivity and biocompatibility. A novel sol-gel combustion synthesis has been adopted by using sucrose as a fuel and nitric acid as an oxidizer to synthesize wollastonite. Calcium nitrate and tetraethyl orthosilicate were taken as the source of calcium and silicate. The obtained powders were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction to check the phase formation and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy for the identification of the characteristic functional group. The average particle size calculated by using Scherer's formula is 51.7 nm, and the lattice parameter values are found to be a = 15.4301 Å, b = 7.3242 Å, and c = 7.017 Å. The phase transformation studies were carried out by using a thermogravimetric analyzer. The morphology of the pure wollastonite was imaged by using scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy; the images shows irregular spheroid-shaped particles. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.

Electronics

School of Electronics Engineering

Department of Chemistry

Combustion Science and Technology

Preparation and Phase Evolution of Wollastonite by Sol-Gel Combustion Method Using Sucrose as the Fuel

A rapid and facile route allows the self-assembly of precursor micelles loaded with metal salts on an unprecedented short timescale. Micellar arrays can then be transformed into high-quality (metal or metal oxide) nanoparticle arrays. This promising route offers functionalization of surfaces by nanomaterials on industrially relevant timescales. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Fulltext

Angewandte Chemie - International Edition

Ultrafast self-assembly using ultrasound: A facile route to the rapid fabrication of well-ordered dense arrays of inorganic nanostructures

We report a high (∼94%) yield synthesis of intrinsic zinc oxide (ZnO) nanocrystal powders having crystallite sizes in the range 13-35 nm using a novel gel-incineration method with inexpensive precursor salts and citric acid as chelating agent. The influence of various precursor chemicals on the nanocrystallite size, morphology and luminescent properties has been studied in detail. It was identified that the ZnO nanocrystals prepared using organic precursor resulted the smallest crystallite size as compared to inorganic precursors. Reaction temperature was optimized to be ∼900 C by simultaneous thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry studies. Morphology and microstructure of the ZnO nanocrystals have been studied using a scanning electron microscopy. Analysis of photoluminescence excitation and emission spectra enabled us to calculate the band gap energy and defect analysis of as prepared ZnO nanocrystals respectively. The stability of ZnO nanocrystals in water has been verified on time scale and its potential use has been successfully demonstrated for security marker applications. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Journal of Alloys and Compounds

High yield synthesis and characterization of aqueous stable zinc oxide nanocrystals using various precursors