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Dr Rakhi R B

Dr. Rakhi R B

Personal webpage: https://sites.google.com/view/rakhirb/home

IRINS Profile: https://niist.irins.org/profile/228893

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=wxWW0zMAAAAJ&hl=en

 

Dr. Rakhi R.B., a native of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala is a first rank holder of M.Sc. Physics from University of Kerala in 2000. She received her Ph.D. in Physics with the best thesis award, from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM), Chennai in July 2009. She completed her postdoctoral research training from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. She worked as a UGC-Assistant professor (June 2019 – August 2021) at the Department of Physics, University of Kerala. Dr. Rakhi R.B. is currently a Principal Scientist at the Materials Science and Technology Division of CSIR–NIIST.

Dr. Rakhi is the recipient of the Ramanujan fellowship in 2016, International SABIC postdoctoral fellowship award consecutively for 2013 and 2014. She has published more than 78 articles in international peer reviewed journals with more than 6800 citations and has an h-index of 36. Her name has been included in the Stanford Global top 2% scientists list consecutively for the last three years (2019-2020, 2020-2021 and 2021-2022) published by Elsevier, Netherlands.

Her current research interests include functional nanomaterials (nanocarbons, Transition Metal Oxides, and Conducting Polymers) nanocomposites, layered materials (Transition Metal Dichalcogenides and MXenes), nanotechnology-enabled energy storage devices (supercapacitors and hybrid devices), electrocatalysis, and electrochemical sensors.

Professional Experience

 

  • Principal Scientist (August 2021- to date) at CSIR-NIIST, Thiruvananthapuram, India
  • UGC-Assistant Professor (June 2019- August 2021), Department of Physics, University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, India
  • Ramanujan Fellow (February 2016 – June 2019) at CSIR-NIIST, Thiruvananthapuram, India.
  • Postdoctoral Research Fellow (March 2010 – October 2015) at the Functional Nanomaterials and Devices Group, KAUST, KSA.
  • Senior Research Fellow (January 2007 – December 2009) under CSIR Fellowship at IIT Madras, Chennai
  • Junior Research Fellow (January 2004 – December 2006) under CSIR-UGC/JRF -NET Fellowship at IIT Madras, Chennai

 

Achievements & Awards

 

  • Name has been included in the Stanford Global list of top 2% Scientists in the field of Applied Physics-Nanotechnology published by Elsevier, Netherlands consecutively for the years 2019, 2020, and 2021
  • UGC-FRP assistant professorship, UGC, Govt. of India, 2017
  • Ramanujan Fellowship from Science and Engineering Research Board, Department of Science and Technology (SERB-DST), Govt. of India in 2015
  • Global Collaborative Research Award from KAUST- Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2014.
  • SABIC International Post-Doctoral Fellowship award consecutively for the years 2012 and 2013
  • Prof. A.L. Laskar award for the best Ph.D. thesis in Physics from IIT Madras, 2009.
  • First Ph. D student from IIT Madras Physics Department to visit NUS as a part of NUS-India Research Initiative (IRI) program.
  • Best poster prize in International Symposium of Research Scholars (ISRS-2006), held at IIT Madras, Chennai during 18th to 20th of December, 2006
  • Best paper prize in International Symposium of Research Scholars (ISRS-2008), held at IIT Madras, Chennai during 10th to 12th of December, 2008
  • Both Junior and Senior Research Fellowships by ‘Council of Scientific and Industrial Research’ (CSIR), Government of India (2004) after qualifying the national level competitive examination, the Joint UGC-CSIR National Eligibility Test
  • First rank in M.Sc. (Physics) examination conducted by University of Kerala, India in 2000

 

Patents & Publications

List of Publications

I) Book Chapters

  • R. B. Rakhi “Preparation and properties of manipulated carbon nanotubes composites and applications” in book entitled “Nanocarbon and its Composites: Preparation, Properties and Applications” Ist Edition, Anish Khan, Mohammad Jawaid, Inamuddin, Abdullah M. Ahmed Asiri, Editors (2018) ISBN-9780081025093, published by Elsevier.
  • P.M. Anjana and R.B. Rakhi, "Pseudocapacitors" DOI:https://doi.org/10.21741/9781644900499-7” in the book entitled "supercapacitor Technology" edited by Inammuddin, RajenderBoddula, Mohd Imran Ahamed and Abdullah M. Asiri", Vol: 61, pp 141-110, (2019). ISBN 978-1-64490-048-2 published by Materials Research Foundations.

II) International Journals

h-index = 36 (scopus Author ID: 17435530800), Citations >6650
  • VS Haritha, SRS Kumar, R.B. Rakhi* (2023) WS2 Nanosheets Modified Electrodes as an Efficient Electrochemical Sensing Platform for the Non-Enzymatic Detection of the Insecticide Imidacloprid, ACS Omega, Article in Press.
  • PM Anjana, SRS Kumar, R.B. Rakhi* (2023) MnCo2S4 nanoflowers directly grown over nickel foam as cathode for high-performance asymmetric hybrid supercapacitors, Journal of Energy Storage 61, 106672
  • P.M. Anjana, C Vijayakumar, SRS Kumar, MR Bindhu, R.B. Rakhi* (2023) Role of reduced graphene oxide-co-double-doped Fe3O4 nanocomposites for photocatalytic and supercapacitor applications , Materials Science and Engineering: B 290, 116313
  • CP Roshni, K Jithesh, M Manuraj, KG Raj, RB Rakhi* (2022) β-Ni (OH) 2 supported over g-C3N4: A novel catalyst for para-nitrophenol reduction and supercapacitor electrode, Results in Chemistry, 100498
  • VS Haritha, SRS Kumar, R.B. Rakhi* (2022) Non-enzymatic electrocatalytic detection of hydrogen peroxide using Tungsten disulphide nanosheets modified electrodes, Materials Science and Engineering: B 285, 115932
  • R Shilpa, KS Sibi, RK Pai, SRS Kumar, RB Rakhi* (2022) Electrocatalytic water splitting for efficient hydrogen evolution using molybdenum disulfide nanomaterials, Materials Science and Engineering: B 285, 115930
  • PM Anjana, SRS Kumar, RB Rakhi (2022) Manganese cobalt oxide nanoflakes for electrochemical energy storage, Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics, 33, 8484–8492
  • Visakh V. Mohan, M. Manuraj, PM Anjana, R.B. Rakhi* (2022) One pot synthesis of tungsten oxide nanomaterial and application in the field of flexible symmetric supercapacitor energy storage device, Materials Today Proceedings, 62, 848-851
  • I Mukkatt, PM Anjana, A Nirmala, Dipak Patra, Priyanka A. Sukumaran, Renjith S. Pillai, R B Rakhi, S Shankar*, A Ajayaghosh* (2022) Tunable Capacitive Behavior in Metallopolymer-based Electrochromic Thin Film Supercapacitors, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces14, 28, 31900-31910.
  • S Das, M Manuraj, R.B. Rakhi*, and A.Ajayaghosh* (2022) High-frequency electrochemical double layer capacitor based on carbon nanotubes ink coated eggshell membrane electrodes, Journal Energy Storage, 45,103799.
  • V.S. Haritha, M. Manuraj, T.V. Sruthi, V.B.S. Kumar,S. R. Sarath Kumar, S. Sharath Shankar, R.B. Rakhi* (2022) 3D‐Architectured MoS2‐Microflower‐Modified Electrodes toward Electrochemical Determination of Imidacloprid , ChemistrySelect, 7 (10), e202103362
  • Visakh V. Mohan, PM Anjana, R.B. Rakhi* (2022) A study on the effect of phase conversion of tungsten nanostructures on their electrochemical energy storage performance, Materials Advances, DOI: 10.1039/D2MA00475E
  • T.S. Bhat, P.S. Patil, and R.B. Rakhi* (2022) Recent trends in electrolytes for supercapacitors, Journal Energy Storage, 50, 104222.
  • M Manuraj, VV Mohan, SA Aravindh, SRS Kumar, KNN Unni, RB Rakhi* (2022) Can mixed anion transition metal dichalcogenide electrodes enhance the performance of electrochemical energy storage devices? The case of MoS2xSe2 (1-x), Chemical Engineering Journal, 443, 136451
  • Visakh V. Mohan, M. Manuraj, PM Anjana, R.B. Rakhi* (2021) WS2 nanoflowers as efficient electrode materials for supercapacitors, Energy Technology, 10, 2100976
  • R. Rohith, M. Manuraj, R. Imran Jafri, R.B. Rakhi* (2021) Co-MoS2 nanoflower coated carbon fabric as a flexible electrode for supercapacitor, Materials Today Proceedings, 50, 1-6
  • V.S. Haritha, A. Vijayan, S. R. Sarath Kumar, R.B. Rakhi* (2021) V.S. Haritha, S. R. Sarath Kumar, R.B. Rakhi* (2022) Amperometric cholesterol biosensor based on cholesterol oxidase and Pt-Au/MWNTs modified glassy carbon electrode, Materials Today: Proceedings 50, 34-39
  • V.S. Haritha, A. Vijayan, S. R. Sarath Kumar, R.B. Rakhi* (2021) Voltammetric determination of hydrogen peroxide using MoS2 modified glassy carbon electrodes Materials Letters, 301, 130258
  • PM Anjana, SRS Kumar, RB Rakhi (2021) MnCo2O4 nanoneedles self-organized microstructures for supercapacitors, Materials Today Communications, 28, 102720
  • PM Anjana, R Rupa Ranjani, R.B. Rakhi* (2021) Cu-Fe based Oxides and Selenides as Advanced Electrode Materials for High Performance Symmetric Supercapacitors , Materials Letters,129827.
  • PM Anjana, SR Sarath Kumar, R.B. Rakhi* (2021) Direct growth of Mn(OH)2/Co(OH)2 nanocomposite on carbon cloth for flexible supercapacitor electrodes, Journal of Energy Storage 33, 102151.
  • R Rupa Ranjani, PM Anjana, R.B. Rakhi* (2021) Solvothermal synthesis of CuFeS2 nanoflakes as a promising electrode material for supercapacitors, Journal of Energy Storage,33, 102063,
  • M. Manuraj, S Jyothilakshmi, K.N.Narayanan Unni, R.B. Rakhi* (2020) MoSe2 nanoflowers as efficient electrode materials for supercapacitors, Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics 31 (22), 20571-20577.
  • KB Babitha, PS Soorya, AM Peer, RB Rakhi*, A Solaiappan*(2020) Development of ZnO@ rGO Nanocomposites for the Enzyme Free Electrochemical Detection of Urea and Glucose, Materials Advances. DOI: 10.1039/D0MA00445F
  • M. Manuraj, Jomiya Chacko, K.N.Narayanan Unni, R.B. Rakhi* (2020) Heterostructured MoS2-RuO2 nanocomposite: A promising electrode material for supercapacitors, Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 155420.
  • I Mukkatt, PM Anjana, A Nirmala, RB Rakhi, S Shankar, A Ajayaghosh* (2020) Metal ion-induced capacitance modulation in near-isostructural complexes-derived electrochromic coordination polymers, Materials Today Chemistry 16, 100260.
  • M. Manuraj, K.V.K. Nair, K.N.Narayanan Unni, R.B. Rakhi* (2019) High performance supercapacitors based on MoS2 nanostructures with near commercial mass loading, Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 152963.
  • J. Kavil, P.M. Anjana, D. Joshy, A. Babu, G. Raj, P Periyat, R.B. Rakhi* (2019) gC3N4/CuO and gC3N4//Co3O4 nanohybrid structures as efficient electrode materials in symmetric supercapacitors, RSC Advances 9 (66), 38430-38437.
  • Jithesh Kavil, P.M.Anjana, C.P. Roshni, Pradeepan Periyat, K. Govind Raj and R.B. Rakhi* (2019) Multifunctional nanohybrid material from discarded razor blades as cost-effective supercapacitor electrodes and oil-spill cleaners, Applied surface science, 487, 109-115.
  • S. Sharath Shankar, Rayammarakkar M. Shereema, Vishnu Ramachandran, T. V. Sruthi, V. B. Sameer Kumar, and RB Rakhi* (2019) "Carbon quantum dot-modified carbon paste electrode-based sensor for selective and sensitive determination of adrenaline."
  • PM Anjana, MR Bindhu, R.B. Rakhi* (2019) Green synthesized gold nanoparticle dispersed porous carbon composites for electrochemical energy storage, Materials Science for Energy Technologies. 479, 96-104.
  • PM Anjana, MR Bindhu, M Umadevi, R.B. Rakhi* (2019) Antibacterial and electrochemical activities of silver, gold, and palladium nanoparticles dispersed amorphous carbon composites, Applied Surface Science 479, 96-1041.
  • Manuraj Mohan, K.N. narayanan Unni, RB Rakhi* (2018) 2D Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Composite Material as a High-Performance Supercapacitor Electrode, Vacuum (DOI: 10.1016/j.vacuum.2018.10.051).
  • S. Sharath Shankar, Rayammarakkar M. Shereema, RB Rakhi* (2018) Electrochemical determination of Adrenaline using MXene/Graphite composite paste electrodes, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 10 (50), pp 43343–43351
  • J Kavil, PM Anjana, P Periyat, RB Rakhi* (2018) One-pot synthesis of g-C3N4/MnO2, g-C3N4/SnO2 hybrid nanocomposites for Supercapacitor applications, Sustainable Energy & Fuels,2, 2244 -2251. DOI: 10.1039/c8se00279g
  • J Kavil, PM Anjana, P Periyat, RB Rakhi* (2018) Titania nanotubes dispersed graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets as efficient electrode materials for supercapacitors, Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics, 1-11
  • P.K. Meenu, M.L. Lekshmi, P.M. Anjana, R.B. Rakhi* (2018) A High‐Performance Flexible Supercapacitor Anode Based On Polyaniline/Fe3O4 Composite@Carbon Cloth, Chemistry Select 3 (11), 3234-3240.
  • PM Anjana, MR Bindhu, M Umadevi, R.B. Rakhi* (2018) Antimicrobial, electrochemical and photo catalytic activities of Zn doped Fe3O4 nanoparticles, Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics, 1-11.
  • Johnpaul K. Pious, M. L. Lekshmi,Chinnadurai Muthu, R. B. Rakhi* and Vijayakumar C. Nair (2017) Zero-dimensional methylammonium bismuth iodide based lead-free perovskite capacitor, ACS Omega (In Press)
  • R.B. Rakhi*, and M.L. Lekshmi (2017) Reduced graphene oxide based ternary nanocomposite cathodes for high-performance aqueous asymmetric supercapacitors, Electrochimica Acta 231, 539-548.
  • R.B. Rakhi, P. Nayak, C. Xia, and H.N. Alshareef (2016) Novel amperometric glucose biosensor based on MXene nanocomposite, Scientific Reports 6, 36422.
  • R.B. Rakhi, D. H. Nagaraju, P. Beaujuge, H. N. Alshareef (2016) Supercapacitors based on two dimensional VO2 nanosheet electrodes in organic gel electrolyte, Electrochimica Acta, 220, 601-608.
  • R.B. Rakhi, Bilal Ahmed, D. H. Anjum, and H.N. Alshareef (2016) Direct Chemical Synthesis of MnO2 Nanowhiskers on Transition-Metal Carbide Surfaces for Supercapacitor Applications, ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces 8 (29), 18806-18814.
  • R.B. Rakhi, Bilal Ahmed, M. N.Hedhili, D. H. Anjum, and H.N. Alshareef (2015) Effect of post-etch annealing gas composition on the structural and electrochemical properties of Ti2CTx MXene electrodes for supercapacitor applications, Chemistry of Materials, DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.5b01623.
  • Sheikh, A. Bera, A. Mohammed, R. B. Rakhi, S.D. Gobbo, H.N. Alshareef, and T.Wu (2015), Atmospheric Effects on the Photovoltaic Performance of Hybrid Perovskite Solar Cells Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, 137, 6-14.
  • R. B. Rakhi, D. H. Anjum, N.A. Alhebshi, C. Xia, W. Chen, and H.N. Alshareef (2014), Nanostructured cobalt sulfide-on-fiber with tunable morphology as electrodes for asymmetric hybrid supercapacitors. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 2, 16190
  • W. Chen, C. Xia, R.B. Rakhi, and H.N. Alshareef (2014), A General Approach toward Enhancement of Pseudocapacitive Performance of Conducting Polymers by Redox-Active Electrolytes. Journal of Power sources DOI: 10.1016/j.jpowsour.2014.05.131
  • W. Chen; Rakhi, R. B.; M. N.Hedhili and H.N. Alshareef (2014), Shape Controlled Porous Nanocarbons for High Performance Supercapacitors. J. Materials Chemistry A DOI: 10.1039/C3TA15245F
  • R.B. Rakhi, W. Chen, D.K. Cha, and H.N. Alshareef (2014) Enhanced rate performance of mesoporous Co3O4 nanosheet supercapacitor electrodes by hydrous RuO2 nanoparticle decoration. ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces DOI: 10.1021/am405849n
  • W. Chen, R.B. Rakhi, Qingxiao Wang, M. N. Hedhili and H.N. Alshareef (2014) “Growth Mechanism and Supercapacitor Cycling Performance of MnO2 Nanostructures by Electron Tomography”, Advanced Functional Materials, DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201303508
  • N.A. Alhebshi, R.B. Rakhi, and H.N. Alshareef (2013) Conformal Coating of Ni(OH)2 Nanoflakes on Carbon Fibers by Chemical Bath Deposition for Efficient Supercapacitor Electrodes. J. Materials Chemistry A, DOI:10.1039/c3ta12936
  • R.B. Rakhi, W. Chen, D.K. Cha, and H.N. Alshareef (2013), Influence of calcination temperature on the morphology and energy storage properties of Cobalt oxide nanostructures directly grown over carbon cloth substrates. Materials for Renewable and Sustainable Energy 2:17; DOI 10.1007/s40243-013-0017-y
  • W. Chen, R.B. Rakhi, and H.N. Alshareef (2013). Morphology-Dependent Enhancement of the Pseudocapacitance of Template-Guided Tunable Polyaniline Nanostructures. The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 117 (29), pp 15009–15019.
  • W. Chen, R.B. Rakhi, and H.N. Alshareef (2013) Capacitance enhancement of polyaniline coated curved-graphene supercapacitor in redox-active electrolyte, Nanoscale 5 (10), pp. 4134-4138.
  • Y. Bai, R.B. Rakhi, W. Chen, and H.N. Alshareef (2013) Effect of pH-Induced Chemical Modification of Hydrothermally Reduced Graphene Oxide on Supercapacitor Performance, Journal of power sources,233, 313-319.
  • W. Chen, R.B. Rakhi, and H.N. Alshareef (2013) Facile Synthesis of Polyaniline Nanotubes for High Energy Density Pseudocapacitors, J. Materials Chemistry A, 1 (10), pp. 3315-3324.
  • W. Chen, R.B. Rakhi, and H.N. Alshareef (2012) “High energy density super apacitors using carbon nanotube-coated macroporous electrodes”, J. Materials Chemistry, 22, 14394-14402.
  • Aziz Fihri, Raed Rahal, R.B. Rakhi, Rachid Sougrat, Dongkyu Cha, Mohamed Nejib Hedhili, Mohamed Bouhrara, H. N. Alshareef, and Vivek Polshettiwar (2012) "Desert Nano-Roses of Nickel Oxides: Microwave-Assisted Green Synthesis, Electron Tomography Study and Their Application for CO Oxidation and Energy Storage",Chem sus Chem. 5, 1241-1248.
  • R.B. Rakhi, W. Chen and H.N. Alshareef (2012) “Conducting polymer/carbon nanocoil composite electrodes for efficient supercapacitors”, J. Materials Chemistry, 22, 5177-5183.
  • R.B. Rakhi, W. Chen, D.K. Cha, and H.N. Alshareef (2012) “Nanostructured Ternary Electrodes for Energy Storage Applications”, Advanced Energy Materials, 2, 381–389.
  • R.B. Rakhi, W. Chen, D.K. Cha, and H.N. Alshareef (2012) “Substrate Dependent Self-Organization of Mesoporous Cobalt Oxide Nanowires with Remarkable Pseudocapacitance”, Nanoletters; 12(5), 2559-2567.
  • Tessy Theres Baby, R.B. Rakhi, N. Ravi and S. Ramaprabhu (2012) Cerium oxide dispersed multi walled carbon nanotubes as cathode material for flexible field emitters. Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology 12, 6718-6723
  • S. S. Jyothirmayee Aravind, T. T. Baby, T. Arockiadoss, R.B. Rakhi and S. Ramaprabhu; (2011) A cholesterol biosensor based on gold nanoparticles decorated functionalized graphene nanoplatelets. Thin Solid Films, 519 (16), 5667-5672.
  • R.B. Rakhi, K. Sethupathi and S. Ramaprabhu (2011) Field emission properties of metal encapsulated and metal-oxide dispersed multi walled nanotube nanocomposites. Journal of Nano Energy and Power Research, 1, 57-64.
  • R.B. Rakhi, W. Chen, D.K. Cha, and H.N. Alshareef (2011) “Energy Storage Devices with Electrodes Incorporating Carbon Nanocoils & Metal Oxide Nanoparticles”, J. Phys. Chem. C 115 (29), 14392.
  • R.B. Rakhi, W. Chen, D.K. Cha, and H.N. Alshareef (2011) “High Performance Supercapacitors Using Electrodes Incorporating Metal Oxide Nanoparticles Anchored onto Graphene Nanosheets”, J. Materials Chemistry, 21, 16197-16204.
  • R.B. Rakhi and H.N. Alshareef, (2011) “Enhancement of the energy storage properties of supercapacitors using graphene nanosheets dispersed with metal oxide-loaded carbon nanotubes”, J. Power sources. 196, 8858.
  • W. Chen, R.B. Rakhi, M. Liangbing, Xing Xie, Y. Cui, and H.N. Alshareef (2011) “High Performance Supercapacitors on a Sponge”, Nano Letters, 11, 5165–5172.
  • T. T. Baby, S. S. Jyothirmayee Aravind; T. Arockiadoss, R.B. Rakhi and S. Ramaprabhu; (2010) Metal decorated grapheme sheets as immobilization matrix for amperometric Glucose biosensor, Sensors & Actuators: B, 145(1), 71-77.
  • R.B. Rakhi, X. Lim, X. Gao, K. Sethupathi, S. Ramaprabhu and C.H. Sow (2010) Electron field emission from magnetic materials encapsulated multi walled carbon nanotubes. Applied Physics A, 98, 195-202.
  • R.B. Rakhi, K. Sethupathi and S. Ramaprabhu, (2009) A glucose biosensor based on deposition of glucose oxidase on to crystalline gold nanoparticle modified carbon nanotube electrode. Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 113(10), 3190-3194.
  • R.B. Rakhi, K. Sethupathi and S. Ramaprabhu, (2009) Electron field emitters based on multiwalled carbon nanotubes coated with conducting polymer/ metal/ metal-oxide composites. Journal of Experimental Nanoscience, 4, 67-76.
  • R.B. Rakhi, K. Sethupathi and S. Ramaprabhu, (2008) Synthesis and field emission properties of polymer/metal dispersed multi walled carbon nanotubes. Nanotrends, 5, 1-9.
  • R.B. Rakhi, K. Sethupathi and S. Ramaprabhu, (2008) Field emission from carbon nanotubes grown on a graphitized carbon fabric compared with the same fabric with a spin coating of nanotubes. Carbon, 46, 1656-1663.
  • R.B. Rakhi, K. Sethupathi and S. Ramaprabhu, (2008) Synthesis and Hydrogen adsorption properties of carbon nanotubes. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 33, 381-386.
  • R.B. Rakhi, K. Sethupathi and S. Ramaprabhu, (2008) Electron field emission properties of conducting polymer coated multi walled carbon nanotubes. Applied Surface Science, 254, 6770- 6774.
  • R.B. Rakhi, A. Leela Mohana Reddy, M.M. Shaijumon, K. Sethupathi and S. Ramaprabhu, (2008) Electron field emitters based on multiwalled carbon nanotubes decorated with nanoscale metal clusters. Journal of Nanoparticle Research, 10, 179-189.
  • R.B. Rakhi, K. Sethupathi and S. Ramaprabhu, (2007) Effect of purity and substrate on field emission properties of multi-walled carbon nanotubes. Nano scale Research Letters, 2, 331-336.
Research Output

In our group, we synthesize nanostructured electrode materials for electrochemical energy storage, electrocatalysis, and electrochemical sensing applications.  Currently, the group focuses on the growth of 2D layered materials (graphene, MoS2, MXenes, and heterostructures), transition metal oxides, and organic/inorganic hybrid composites.

Supercapacitors

Image1

From portable electronics and transportation systems to backup systems that complement renewable sources such as solar and wind, the demand for energy storage is expected to grow substantially well into the foreseeable future. Supercapacitors can act as a promising energy- storage alternative for rapidly growing electronic industry. In this project we design and develop nanostructured electrode materials for supercapacitor applications. We are specifically interested in the development of inorganic layered materials including oxides, chalcogenides, and carbides and organic/inorganic hybrid composites to improve supercapacitor performance.

Electrochemical Sensors

Image2

Sensitive and selective enzyme based biosensors are used for the detection and quantification of various components present in the biological systems. Highly sensitive enzyme-based biosensors can be fabricated by the incorporation of enzymes with a suitable electrochemical transducer. Since many of the attributes of materials used for energy storage devices such as large surface area, fast ion and electronic transport, some of the materials developed for energy storage actually work well as sensor materials. In this project, potentiostatic, conductivity-based, and capacitance-based sensing devices are being investigated.

Electrocatalytic Water Splitting

Image3

Electrocatalytic water splitting to generate hydrogen and oxygen has gained immense attention as it can meet the constantly increasing energy demands of humanity as well as it is an eco-friendly energy generation mechanism. Ideally, the electrolysis of water involving two half-cell reactions – hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) requires a theoretical input energy of ∆E ° = 1.23 V vs normal hydrogen electrode (NHE). But the sluggish kinetics of the two-electron HER mechanism and the four-electron OER mechanism together requires an additional amount of energy to initiate the water splitting process. Recently, research is progressing towards designing and synthesizing efficient electrocatalyst materials which can reduce the overpotential (difference between theoretical and required potential) required for water electrolysis. Our group is currently focussing on the development of 2D Transition Metal Dichalcogenides for Electrocatalytic Water Splitting.

Functional nanomaterials

Image4

Novel functional nanomaterials are the basis of newly emerging nanotechnologies for various device applications. In our group we are indulged in the synthesis of various nanomaterials and their composites for electrochemical applications

Completed Projects as Principle Investigator
  1. Nanocomposites for electrochemical energy storage applications (GAP 136739)
    Principal Investigator in DST-Ramanujan project.
    Duration: 5 Years (2016-2021)
    Sponsoring Agency: SERB, DST, India
  2. Design and processing of nanostructured hybrid composite materials for electrochemical energy storage(GAP-137839)
    Co-investigator in DST-MES project coordinated by Dr. K.N. Narayanan Unni, CSIR-NIIST, Trivandrum.
    Duration: 3 years (2017-2020)Sponsoring Agency: DST, India
Membership

 

  • American Chemical Society
  • Materials Research Society of India
  • Indian Science Congress Association
  • Kerala Academy of Sciences

 

Alumni
DrManuraj

 

 Dr. Manuraj M.(Ph. D, University of Kerala, 2022)
Thesis title: Efficient electrode materials based on molybdenum dichalcogenides for Supercapacitors
Email ID : manuraj.m1@gmail.com

 

Academic Qualification

 

  • Ph.D. in Physics IIT Madras, India 2009 (Best thesis award) Thesis title: “Synthesis of carbon nanotube-based nanocomposites and their applications to field mission and biosensors” Thesis supervisors: Prof. S. Ramaprabhu & Prof. K. Sethupathi, Department of Physics, IIT Madras, Chennai
  • M.Phil. in Physics University of Kerala, India 2002
  • B. Ed. in Physical Sciences University of Kerala, India 2001.
  • M.Sc. in Physics University of Kerala, India 2000 (First rank)

 

Group
AnjanaPM

 

Mrs. Anjana P.M (University of Kerala)
Designation : Project Associate II
Email : dranjanasree[at]gmail.com
HarithaVS

 

Mrs. Haritha V.S. (University of Kerala)
Designation : Junior Research Fellow (UOK)
Email : haritha.v.s.7[at]gmail.com
VisakhVMohan

 

Mr. Visakh V. Mohan (University of Kerala)
Designation : Junior Research Fellow (UOK)
Email : vm.visakh[at]yahoo.co.in
Shilpa

 

Mrs. Shilpa R. (University of Kerala)
Designation : Project Associate I
Email : shilparkrishnan6@gmail.com
SophyMariam

 

Ms. Sophy Mariam Vargheese
Designation : Junior Research Fellow (UGC)
Email : sophysali@gmail.com
Aparna

 

Ms. Aparna S.M.
Designation : Junior Research Fellow (UGC)
Email : aparnamadhu54@gmail.com

 

Conference Presentations

National

  • Visakh V Mohan, Manuraj Mohan and R.B Rakhi “Commercial-level mass-loading 2D WS2 towards real-time energy storage applications” in the two day National Seminar on Recent Trends n Energy and Environment (NSREE-2K22) organized by Post Graduate Department of Physics, SN College, Sivagiri, Varkala on 8-9 December 2022, in association with KSCSTE.
  • R.B. Rakhi, Supercapacitors: electrode Materials, invited talk at one Week e-Summer School on Advanced Functional Materials for Energy Harvesting, Storage and Biomedical Applications during 13 - 19 May 2020 organized by Bishop Moore College, Mavelikkara in association with the Kerala State Higher Education Council.
  • R.B. Rakhi, Electrochemical characterization of supercapacitors, invited talk at National workshop on Advanced Analytical Techniques in Material Science - WAATMS 2020 organized by Department of Nanoscience and Technology, University of Calicut during the period 20 - 23 Jan 2020.
  • R.B. Rakhi, Electrochemical energy storage, invited talk at National Seminar on "Advances in Energy Related Materials", held at the Govt. College Kodanchery, Calicut on 31-12-2019 and 01-01-2020.
  • P.M. Anjana and R.B. Rakhi, Direct growth of polyaniline/Fe3O4 composite on flexible carbon cloth for supercapacitor application, Polymer Conference for Young Researchers (PYCR’18) held at CSIR-NIIST on 17, November, 2018
  • R.B. Rakhi, Nanocomposite Electrodes for high performance supercapacitors. National Seminar on Recent Advances in Physics organized by the Dept. of Physics, University College on 8-9 March 2017. (Invited talk).
  • R.B. Rakhi, K. Sethupathi and S. Ramaprabhu, Preparation and characterization of nanocrystalline Au/multi walled carbon nanotube composites. DAE National conference on Solid State Physics, BARC, Mumbai, India, December, 2008.
  • R.B. Rakhi, K. Sethupathi and S. Ramaprabhu, Field emission propertiesof Multi-walled carbon nanotubes. National Workshop on Nanostructured materials and applications, Stella Maris College, Chennai, India, January, 2007(II prize for oral presentation).
  • R.B. Rakhi, K. Sethupathi and S. Ramaprabhu, Synthesis and characterization of multi walled carbon nanotubes by thermal chemical vapour deposition using RE based AB2 alloy hydride catalyst, DAE National conference on Solid State Physics, BARC, Mumbai, India, December, 2005.
  • S.R. Sarath Kumar, R.B. Rakhi and S. Mohanan, Thermo-optic studies on the effect of sunlight on certain medicines, 15th Kerala Science congress, Kanakakkunnu Palace, Thiruvananthapuram, India, January, 2003.
  • R.B. Rakhi, S.R. Sarath Kumar and S. Mohanan, Thermo-optic studies on certain medicines nearing their expiry dates, 15th Kerala Science Congress National conference on Solid State Physics, Kanakakkunnu Palace, Thiruvananthapuram, India, January, 2003.