Browsing by Author "Kumbhakar, Partha"

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    Development of a schwarzite-based moving bed 3D printed water treatment system for nanoplastic remediation
    (Royal Society of Chemistry, 2021) Gupta, Bramha; Ambekar, Rushikesh S.; Tromer, Raphael M.; Ghosal, Partha Sarathi; Sinha, Rupal; Majumder, Abhradeep; Kumbhakar, Partha; Ajayan, P. M.; Galvao, Douglas S.; Gupta, Ashok Kumar; Tiwary, Chandra Sekhar; Smalley-Curl Institute
    The impact of micro and nanoplastic debris on our aquatic ecosystem is among the most prominent environmental challenges we face today. In addition, nanoplastics create significant concern for environmentalists because of their toxicity and difficulty in separation and removal. Here we report the development of a 3D printed moving bed water filter (M-3DPWF), which can perform as an efficient nanoplastic scavenger. The enhanced separation of the nanoplastics happens due to the creation of a charged filter material that traps the more surface charged nanoparticles selectively. Synthetic contaminated water from polycarbonate waste has been tested with the filter, and enhanced nanoplastic removal has been achieved. The proposed filtration mechanism of surface-charge based water cleaning is further validated using density function theory (semi-empirical) based simulation. The filter has also shown good structural and mechanical stability in both static and dynamic water conditions. The field suitability of the novel treatment system has also been confirmed using water from various sources, such as sea, river, and pond. Our results suggest that the newly developed water filter can be used for the removal of floating nanoparticles in water as a robust advanced treatment system.
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    Spontaneous hydrogen production using gadolinium telluride
    (Cell Press, 2023) Kumbhakar, Partha; Parui, Arko; Dhakar, Shikha; Paliwal, Manas; Behera, Rakesh; Gautam, Abhay Raj Singh; Roy, Soumyabrata; Ajayan, Pulickel M.; Sharma, Sudhanshu; Singh, Abhishek K.; Tiwary, Chandra S.
    Developing materials for controlled hydrogen production through water splitting is one of the most promising ways to meet current energy demand. Here, we demonstrate spontaneous and green production of hydrogen at high evolution rate using gadolinium telluride (GdTe) under ambient conditions. The spent materials can be reused after melting, which regain the original activity of the pristine sample. The phase formation and reusability are supported by the thermodynamics calculations. The theoretical calculation reveals ultralow activation energy for hydrogen production using GdTe caused by charge transfer from Te to Gd. Production of highly pure and instantaneous hydrogen by GdTe could accelerate green and sustainable energy conversion technologies.