PROF. NEERISH REVAPRASADU

Design and preparation of functional nanomaterials, characterization and application in energy technologies

Neerish Revaprasadu^1*

¹Department of Chemistry, University of Zululand

^*RevaprasaduN@unizulu.ac.za

Abstract:

Nanoscale materials have long promised to revolutionize science and technology. The fascinating properties realised when materials dimensions shrink all the way down to a few hundred/thousands of atoms have bedazzled scientists for the past few decades. Recently the functional properties of nanomaterials have been harnessed in energy technologies. As global energy demand continues to rise, the transition toward sustainable and resilient energy systems has become both an environmental imperative.
While great strides have been made in the synthesis of nanomaterials on the laboratory scale, the ability to scale up the production has still not reached maturity. There are numerous methods used to prepare nanomaterials, which fall into various categories. This lecture will highlight the hot-injection precursor route and solventless melt method, both using single molecular precursors. Examples involving II-VI binary, ternary and 2-D semiconductors will be shown.
The synthesis of various nickel, cobalt and bismuth/antimony based chalcogenide binary and ternary materials will be discussed.1-3 The electrochemical properties of the materials will be presented. These will include HER, OER and supercapacitance studies. A discussion of the influence of the morphological and compositional properties of the materials on functional performance of the materials will be highlighted.

References:

G.B. Shombe, M.D. Khan, C. Zequine, C. Zhao, R.K. Gupta and N. Revaprasadu, Scientific Reports, 2020, 10(1), 1-14.
M.D Khan, S. Ullah Awan, C. Zequine, C. Zhang, R. K. Gupta and N. Revaprasadu, ACS Applied Energy Materials, 2020, 3(2) 1448-1460.
S. Razzaque, M.D Khan, M. Aamir, M. Sohail, S. Bhoyate, R.K. Gupta, M. Sher, J. Akhtar and N. Revaprasadu, Inorganic Chemistry, 2021, 60(3), 1449-1461.