Research

The Department of Chemical Engineering is committed to advancing high-quality, interdisciplinary research that addresses critical challenges in energy sustainability, environmental protection, advanced materials, and process systems engineering. By integrating fundamental science with applied engineering, our research ecosystem fosters innovation that contributes to both academic excellence and societal well-being. Our research activities are structured around four interconnected thrust areas: Energy, Environment, Materials, and Process Modeling and Simulation, enabling holistic solutions to complex, real-world problems. This integrated approach allows us to bridge laboratory-scale discoveries with scalable technologies, ensuring relevance across industrial, environmental, and policy-driven contexts. Strongly aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), our research emphasizes clean energy transitions, water and resource sustainability, pollution mitigation, and circular economy principles. Through national and international collaborations, funded research projects, and high-impact publications, the Department continues to strengthen its global research footprint while nurturing innovation-driven, socially responsible engineering solutions for a sustainable and resilient future.

To effectively translate this research vision into focused and impactful outcomes, the Department has organized its activities into four core research areas. These domains are closely interconnected and collectively address challenges spanning sustainable energy, environmental protection, advanced material development, and process optimization.

OUR COLLABORATORS

Our Department actively engages in strong national and international research collaborations with leading universities, research institutes, and academic organizations across the globe. These partnerships enable joint research projects, co-authored high-impact publications, faculty and student exchanges, shared research infrastructure, and effective knowledge transfer. Collaborating with institutions across India, Europe, the Middle East, East Asia, and Southeast Asia, our researchers address complex interdisciplinary challenges in energy, environment, materials, and process systems engineering. The institutions displayed below represent key academic partners who significantly contribute to our funded projects, global research visibility, and the Department’s mission to deliver innovative, sustainable, and socially impactful engineering solutions.

Funded Projects

Publications

1. Akash Balakrishnan, Frency P Mathew, Milan Tom Joseph, Mona Mary Varghese, Aryamol K. S., Mahendra Chinthala, Natarajan Rajamohan, Bo Weng, “Engineered Cellulose-Supported Photocatalysts for Clean Energy and Environmental Remediation: Progress and Prospects” RSC Journal of Material Chemistry A, (2026) (IF=9.95)
2. Maximilian Lackner, Aryamol K S, Kuppusamy Kanagaraj, Nangan Senthilkumar, Saravanan Rajendran, Turki Kh. Faraj, Abdulwahed Fahad Alrefaei, Natesan Thirumalaivasan, Thanigaivel Sundaram, Arpita Roy, Rajan Verma, Sabu Thomas, Sreeraj Gopi, Nitrogen-doped carbon dots from Brahmi (Bacopa monnieri): Metal-free probe for efficient detection of metal pollutants and methylene blue dye degradation, Green Processing and Synthesis, De Gruyter (2025)
3. K.S. Aryamol, L. Harish Kumar, Sabu Thomas, Sreeraj Gopi, M.S. Sreekala, Chapter 2 – Synthesis methods of nanostructured carbon materials in Nanostructured Carbon Materials from Plant extracts: Synthesis, Characterization, and Applications, Elsevier (2025) https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-95126-5.00004-4 (Book Chapter)
4. L. Harish Kumar, K.S. Aryamol, Chapter 23 – Green synthesis of carbon-based nanomaterials from plant extracts and their applications in nanofluids in Nanostructured Carbon Materials from Plant extracts: Synthesis, Characterization, and Applications, Elsevier (2025) https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-95126-5.00022-6 (Book Chapter)
5. Abdul Rehman, Vishnuprasad Selvaraj, Karthick Senthilkumar, Green Energy Technologies for Bioenergy Production in The Principles of Green Energy & Technology, CRC Press (2025)
6. Vishnuprasad Selvaraj, S Sreelekshmi, S Nivedita, Karthick Senthilkumar,
   “Investigation of acidic functionalized graphene-supported β-cyclodextrin as a heterogeneous nanocatalyst for the green synthesis of benzaldehyde from natural cinnamaldehyde”, Journal of the Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers, Elsevier (2025) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtice.2025.106298 (IF=6.3)
7. Hritankhi Tripathy, Akash Balakrishnan, Mahendra Chinthala, Arvind Kumar,“Peroxymonosulfate-activated photocatalytic reclamation of sulfamethoxazole using In₂S₃/CuSe infused carboxymethyl cellulose photocatalytic heterojunction hydrogels: Insights into operations and mechanisms, Chemical Engineering Journal (2025) (IF=13)
8. Rajesh Nithyanandam, Vishnuprasad Selvaraj¸ Nanoadsorbents for Heavy Metal Removal in Nanofluids and Nano Composites for Energy Systems, Springer (2025)
9. Akash Balakrishnan, Emmanuel Sebastian Kunnel, Nanditha Dayanandan, Hritankhi Tripathy, Mahendra Chinthala, Arvind Kumar, Dai-Viet N Vo, Photocatalysis-self-Fenton based oxidation system towards the reclamation of recalcitrant pollutants: Current advances and future prospects, Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, (2025). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2025.117171 (IF=7.2)
10. Akash Balakrishnan, Mahendra Chinthala, Arvind Kumar, Nanditha Dayanandan, Suverna Trivedi, Recent advances on graphitic carbon nitride-based homojunction as effective photocatalysts for energy and environmental remediation, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, (2025) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2024.12.023 (IF=8.3)
11. Emmanuel Sebastian Kunnel, Sanmitra Ajay Manker, Ashish Kumar, Akash Balakrishnan, Chandra Shekhar Pati Tripathi, Brajesh Kumar Dubey, Suverna Trivedi, Improved tetracycline degradation via integrated peroxymonosulfate activation and photocatalytic self-Fenton using hybrid Type-II/Z-scheme Se/gC₃N₄/Bi₂WO₆ carboxymethyl cellulose hydrogels, RSC Journal of Materials Chemistry A, (2025) (IF=9.95)
12. Akash Balakrishnan, Tushar Kumar Khora, Khwairakpam Bidya Devi, Mahendra Chinthala, Arvind Kumar, Natarajan Rajamohan, Engineered 3D copper ferrite/kaolinite/polypyrrole carbon black hydrogels for efficient persulfate activation in tetracycline degradation: kinetics, mechanistic insights, toxicity, and green metrics, RSC Journal of Materials Chemistry A, (2025) (IF=9.95)
13. Akash Balakrishnan, Frency P Mathew, Emmanuel Sebastian Kunnel, Mona Mary Varghese, Suverna Trivedi, Mariya Binoy, Mahendra Chinthala, Natarajan Rajamohan, Bo Weng, g-C₃N₅-based photocatalysts for energy and environmental applications: insights into properties, structural modifications, challenges, and future directions, RSC Nanoscale (2025) (IF=5.1)

14. Vishnuprasad, S. Sreelekshmi, Er. Mariya Binoy, Sony George, Karthick Senthilkumar published a paper on “Investigation on the synergistic effect and thermal properties of polyhydroxyethyl methacrylate encapsulated graphene quantum dot – paraffin hybrid nanofluid” in Diamond & Related Materials, (2024) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diamond.2024.111295
15. Akash Balakrishnan, K. Vijaya Suryaa, Mahendra Chinthala, Arvind Kumar published a paper on “Mechanistic insights of PO₄^3- functionalized carbon nitride homojunction hydrogels in photocatalytic-self-Fenton-peroxymonosulfate system for tetracycline degradation” in Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, (2024) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcis.2024.04.177
16. Akash Balakrishnan, Mahendra Chinthala, Arvind Kumar, Sami Rtimi published a paper on “Construction of dual Z-scheme ternary carbon nitride homojunction pectin microspheres as a multifunctional photocatalyst for tetracycline degradation, H₂O₂ production, and N₂ fixation” in Chemical Engineering Journal, (2024) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2024.153899
17. Priwiya Peter, Rasana N., Jayanarayanan K., Manu Remanan published a paper on “Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene Hybrid Composite with Aluminium Nitride and Multi-walled Carbon Tube nanofillers: evaluation of thermomechanical and wear behaviour” in Journal of inorganic and organometallic polymers and materials, (2024)
18. Vishnuprasad. S, P. Abirami, S. Mithran, M. Asmi, M. Narayanan, P. Ramasamy published a paper on “Experimental studies of tannery wastewater treatment by combined electrocoagulation and ultrasonication processes using response surface methodology optimization” in International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, (2023), doi.org/10.1007/s13762-023-05248-2
19. Prince George, Pradip Chawdhary “Nano- particles doped MIL-53 (Fe) in rapid and selective detection of hydrogen peroxide in milk samples” in Springer International Publishing, (2022).
20. Nivedita S, “Application of response surface methodology for the composition optimization of polycaprolactone based composite membrane” in the Indian Journal of Chemical technology, (2022).
21. Nivedita S,  “Dairy Effluents: Characteristics, effects and Treatment Methods, Water Purification Processes, Applications and health effects” in Nova Science Publishers, (2022).
22. Prince George, Au, Ag nanoparticles-doped MIL-53(Fe) in rapid and selective detection of hydrogen peroxide in milk samples. Chem. Pap. 77, 1361–1375 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11696-022-02558-6
23. Vishnuprasad S, “Experimental investigation on the thermo-physical properties and tribological performance of acidic functionalized graphene dispersed VG-68 hydraulic oil-based nanolubricant ” in the journal Diamond and Related Materials, (2023), Doi:  10.1016/j.diamond.2023.109740
24. Ajith C, “Crosslink induced heterogeneity effects on water diffusion and proton conductivity of hydrophilic ionic polymer membranes”. Polymer Journal (2021)
25. Nivedita S, “Performance of polycaprolactone/TiO₂ composite membrane for the effective treatment of dairy effluents”, Water Science and Technology Journal, (2021)
26. Prince George, “Enhanced photocatalytic performance of novel S2-doped MIL-53(Fe) under visible light.”, Journal of Alloys and Compounds, (2021).
27. Prince George “Enhanced transport of Lignosulfonate by integrating adsorption sweep in a liquid membrane module”, Membrane and Water treatment Journal, (2021).
28. Nivedita S, “Optimization of process parameters for PCL-PEG-TiO₂ composite membrane using response surface methodology”, Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering, 2020
29. Nivedita S, Assistant Professor published the paper titled “Thermodynamic analysis of phase diagram of H₂O-DMF-PCL system: investigation on the influence of inorganic”, Journal of Material Science, (2020).