The concept of sustainability has emerged as a guide for the development of more efficient human-mediated industrial and agricultural processes with fewer negative externalities to the natural ecosystem. Disseminating the idea of sustainability has proven useful in motivating changes in such production processes towards conservationist practices and reduction of degradation of the natural environment. However, there is inconsistency regarding the viability of the concept of sustainability in several kinds of analyses.

Utilization of CO2 as a renewable feedstock to produce fuels/chemicals is a potential way to mitigate the effects of anthropogenic climate change. However, CO2 conversion technologies are still at a nascent stage and are limited by several technical challenges. Development of active, selective, and stable heterogeneous catalysts is key to the development of such technologies.

This project will focus on the synthesis of tailor-made catalysts for the catalytic conversion of carbon dioxide into value-added chemicals or syngas or solid carbon with/without light irradiation. 

Proteins are fundamental to biological processes, serving as the molecular machinery of life. While traditionally viewed as rigid structures with defined three-dimensional shapes, many proteins exhibit significant structural flexibility. Among these are intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs), which lack a fixed, ordered structure and exist as dynamic ensembles of conformations. This inherent flexibility is not a limitation but a functional feature that enables IDPs to adapt their shapes for diverse interactions.

Study of adsorption behaviour of carbon dioxide on activated carbon using GCMC + MD simulations via LAMMPS

Prediction of adsorption behaviour via GCMC and MD simulations using LAMMPS

BTP Topic

Nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) are promising for neural stimulation, but a single short pulse often requires a very high electric field. Such high fields can damage the cell membrane.

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is performed to determine the environmental impacts of products and processes. LCA of futuristic scenarios is required to know the environmental impacts of technologies that are likely to be scaled-up in the future. Prospective LCA is a method to perform such an analysis. In this method, future scenarios, such as through the integrated assessment models, are used to edit the LCA database, so that the revised database can be used to perform futuristic LCA. 

The aviation sector is actively pursuing Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) as a viable solution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and achieve net-zero carbon targets. Among the various SAF production pathways, the Alcohol-to-Jet (ATJ) route has gained significant attention due to its compatibility with bioethanol/ethanol feedstocks and existing refinery infrastructure. The process involves ethanol dehydration to ethylene, catalytic oligomerization to higher olefins, hydrogenation, and downstream separation to produce jet-fuel-range hydrocarbons.

A lithium ion battery is a rechargeable energy storage device that uses the movement of lithium ions between its positive (cathode) and negative (anode) electrodes to generate power.  The electrolyte in a lithium ion battery allows lithium ions to travel between the cathode and anode during charging and discharging. It is typically a liquid solution made of a dissolved lithium salt (such as LiPF₆), an organic solvent, and specialized chemical additives. Given the large number of components present, experimentally optimizing the electrolyte is a tedious exercise.

Aqueous zinc-ion battery (AZIB) is an emerging energy storage technology that utilizes safe, water-based electrolytes and zinc metal anodes. The goal of this project is to fabricate an AZIB that uses a zinc metal anode, a suitable cathode, and an aqueous electrolyte within a cell.