Dr. Akash Balakrishnan

Dr. Akash Balakrishnan

Assistant Professor

Email ID: akash.balakrishnan@saintgits.org

AREAS OF INTEREST:

Heterogeneous catalysis for the production of chemicals and fuels, Advanced oxidation process for                 environmental applications, Hydrogels, and Green Ammonia

EDUCATION

DegreeInstituteSpecializationYear
Ph.D.National Institute of Technology RourkelaChemical Engineering – Heterogeneous catalysis2025
M. TechSRM Institute of Technology, Chennai, Tamil NaduChemical Engineering2020
B. TechAnna University, ChennaiChemical Engineering2018

WORK EXPERIENCE

  • Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, Saintgits College of Engineering (Autonomous), Kottayam, 2024 July – till date.

PROJECTS

  • APJ KTU CERD Research Grant for the project “Development of ternary carbon nitride-based heterojunction impregnated biopolymeric hydrogels photocatalysts for sustainable generation of ammonia (2025)
  • Research grant by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change under ideas4life scheme for the prototype development of project Hydrosoleil- Integrated advanced oxidation technology for pharmaceutical wastewater remediation (2025)

PUBLICATIONS

Journal 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, (2025) (IF=9.95)
  2. 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)
  3. 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)
  4. 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)
  5. 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)
  6. 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)
  7. 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)
  8. ”K Vijaya Suryaa, Akash Balakrishnan, Mahendra Chinthala, Khwairakpam Bidya Devi, Hritankhi Tripathy, Arvind Kumar, Tejraj M Aminabhavi, Sami Rtimi, “Photocatalytic self-Fenton degradation of tetracycline over Z-scheme functionalized g-C3N4/CeO2/Bi2S3 hydrogel beads: Dynamics, mechanism, degradation pathways and toxicity analysis”, Chemical Engineering Journal, 2025, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2025.159470 (IF=13)
  9. Akash Balakrishnan, Mahendra Chinthala, Arvind Kumar, Damia Barceló, Sami Rtimi, “A Z- scheme defect-rich and dimensionally confined double functionalized g-C3N4 homojunction pectin hydrogels for the photocatalysis-self-Fenton-peroxymonosulfate system: Unraveling synergistic catalysis and reaction mechanism”, Chemical Engineering Journal, 2025, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2024.158378 (IF=13.3)
  10. Hritankhi Tripathy, Akash Balakrishnan*, Mahendra Chinthala, Arvind Kumar, “Ternary Indium Sulfide Based 3D Hydrogels as Versatile Photocatalysts: Unraveling Peroxymonosulfate Activation for Sulfamethoxazole Degradation and H2O2 Production” Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 2024, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.iecr.4c02875 (IF=4.2)
  11. Akash Balakrishnan, Mahendra Chinthala, Arvind Kumar, Sami Rtimi, “Construction of dual Z- scheme ternary carbon nitride homojunction pectin microspheres as a multifunctional photocatalyst for tetracycline degradation, H2O2 production, and N2 fixation”, Chemical Engineering Journal, 2024, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2024.153899 (IF= 13.3)
  12. Akash Balakrishnan, K Vijaya Suryaa, Mahendra Chinthala, Arvind Kumar, “Mechanistic insights of PO43− functionalized carbon nitride homojunction hydrogels in photocatalytic-self- Fenton-peroxymonosulfate system for tetracycline degradation”, Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 2024, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcis.2024.04.177 (IF=9.4)
  13. Akash Balakrishnan, K Vijaya Suryaa, Hritankhi Tripathy, Suverna Trivedi, Arvind Kumar, Mahendra Chinthala, “Phosphorylated g-C3N4/sulfur self-doped g-C3N4 homojunction carboxymethyl cellulose beads: An efficient photocatalyst for H2O2 production” Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 2024, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcis.2024.02.110 (IF=9.4)
  14. Akash Balakrishnan, Roshini Sasidharan, Mahendra Chinthala, Arvind Kumar,” Fabrication of Efficient Na, B, and O Codoped g-C3N4/Polypyrrole-Carbon Black 3D Beads for Expeditious Degradation of Tetracycline via Percarbonate Activation”, ACS Industrial Engineering and Chemistry Research, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.iecr.3c03459 (IF=4.2)
  15. Akash Balakrishnan, Mahendra Chinthala, Rajesh Kumar Polagani, “3D kaolinite/ g-C3N4 – alginate beads as an affordable and sustainable photocatalyst for wastewater remediation”, Carbohydrate Polymers, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbpol.2023.121420 (IF=11.2)
  16. Akash Balakrishnan, Emmanuel Sebastian Kunnel, Roshini Sasidharan, Mahendra Chinthala, Arvind Kumar, “3D black g-C3N4 isotype heterojunction hydrogels as a sustainable photocatalyst for tetracycline degradation and H2O2 production”, Chemical Engineering Journal, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2023.146163 (IF = 15.2)
  17. Akash Balakrishnan, Mahendra Chinthala, “Effective sequestration of tetracycline from aqueous streams using metal-free chemically functionalized porous g-C3N4”, Environmental Pollution, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2023.122057 (IF=8.9)
  18. Akash Balakrishnan, Meenu Mariam Jacob, Nanditha Dayanandan, Mahendra Chinthala, Muthamilselvi Ponnuchamy, Dai-Viet N Vo, Sowmya Appunni, Adaikala Selvan Gajendhran, “Chitosan/metal organic frameworks for environmental, energy, and bio-medical applications: a review”, Material Advances, 2023, DOI: 10.1039/D3MA00413A (IF=5)
  19. Akash Balakrishnan, Sowmya Appunni, Mahendra Chinthala, Meenu Mariam Jacob, Dai-Viet N Vo, Soreddy Sainath Reddy, Emmanuel Sebastian Kunnel, “Chitosan-based beads as sustainable adsorbents for wastewater remediation: A review”, Environmental Chemistry Letters, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-023-01563-9 (IF=15.6)
  20. Anh Ngoc T Cao, Kim Hoong Ng, Shams Forruque Ahmed, Ha Tran Nguyen, Ponnusamy Senthil Kumar, Huu-Tuan Tran, Natarajan Rajamohan, Mohammad Yusuf, Pau Loke Show, Akash Balakrishnan, Mahadi B Bahari, Tan Ji Siang, Dai-Viet N Vo, “Hydrogen generation by heterogeneous catalytic steam reforming of short-chain alcohols: a review”, Environmental Chemistry Letters, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-023-01673-4 (IF=20.6)
  21. Akash Balakrishnan, Mahendra Chinthala, Dai-Viet N. Vo, Removal of tetracycline from wastewater  using  g-C3N4 based  photocatalysts:  A  review,  Environmental  Research, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2022.114660 (IF=8.5)
  22. Akash Balakrishnan, Ghanghor Jayant Gaware, Mahendra Chinthala, Heterojunction photocatalysts  for  the  removal  of  nitrophenol:  a  review,  Chemosphere, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.136853
  23. Akash Balakrishnan, Mika Sillanpää, Meenu Mariam Jacob, Dai-Viet N Vo, “Metformin an emerging concern in wastewater: occurrence, analysis, and treatment methods”, Environmental Research, 2022. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2022.113613 (IF=8.5)
  24. Akash Balakrishnan, Sowmya Appunni, Mahendra Chinthala, Dai-Viet N Vo “Biopolymer- supported TiO2 as a sustainable photocatalyst for wastewater treatment: a review”, Environmental Chemistry Letters, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-022-01443-8t (IF=13.61)
  25. Adithya Sridhar1, Akash Balakrishnan1, Meenu Mariam Jacob, Mika Sillanpää, Nanditha Dayanandan, “Global impact of COVID-19 on agriculture: role of sustainable agriculture and digital                        farming.     Environmental   Science           and   Pollution                               Research 2022. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-19358-w(IF=5.1) (Equal Contribution)
  26. Akash Balakrishnan, Mahendra Chinthala, “Comprehensive review on advanced reusability of g- C3N4 based photocatalysts for the removal of organic pollutants” Chemosphere,. 7 2022. doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.134190 (IF=8.9)
  27. Akash Balakrishnan, Appunni Sowmya, Gopalram Keerthiga, “TiO2 Modified Chitosan beads for Continuous Photocatalytic Degradation of 2,4-Dicholorophenoxyaceticacid, a Herbicide Under UV irradiation,    Environmental    science    and    pollution    research,    2021. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-12928-4 (IF=5.1)
  28. Mahendra Chinthala, Akash Balakrishnan, Pavithra Venkataraman, Manaswini Gowtham, “Recent Progress in the application of nano-MgO and its composite materials”, Environmental Chemistry Letters 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-021-01299-4 (IF=13.61)
  29. Ponnuchamy Muthamilselvi, Ashish Kapoor,Senthil Kumar Ponnuswamy, Dai-Vier N. Vo, Akash Balakrishnan, Meenu Mariam Jacob, Sivaraman Prabhakar, “Sustainable adsorbents for decontamination of pesticides from water” Environmental Chemistry Letters. (IF= 9.02). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-021-01183-1
  30. Akash Balakrishnan, Appunni Sowmya, Gopalram Keerthiga, “Immobilized chitosan complexed TiO2 beads for photocatalytic degradation of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, International Journal of Biological macromolecules DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2020.05.204.

Book Chapters

  1. Akash Balakrishnan, Ponnuchamy Muthamilselvi, Ashsish Kapoor, Sivaraman Prabhakar, a book chapter on “Emerging contaminants and associated treatment technologies” in Emerging contaminants in water and wastewater: monitoring, risk assessment, and remediation techniques in Springer publications 2022.
  2. Akash Balakrishnan, Mahendra Chinthala, Green synthesis of visible light-driven g-C3N4 based composites for water treatment Innovations in Green Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, CRC Press, Taylor and Francis 2022.
  3. Akash Balakrishnan, Mahendra Chinthala, Green Synthesis of Nanomaterials for Photocatalytic Biodegradation of Pollutants in Wastewater, Advances in Green and Sustainable Nanomaterials Applications in Energy, Biomedicine, Agriculture, and Environmental Science, CRC Press, Taylor and Francis, 2023.
  4. Akash Balakrishnan, Sowmya A, “Chitosan and Cellulose Based Materials for Sustainable Wastewater Remediation” Biomass-based Clean Technologies for Sustainable Development: Sustainable Resources of Energy Production and Utilization, Springer Nature Singpore, 2024.
  5. Akash Balakrishnan, Mahendra Chinthala, “Development of Antibacterial Biochar Nanocomposite and Its Application in Wastewater Treatment”, Biochar Amendments for Environmental Remediation, CRC Press, 2025.
  6. Akash Balakrishnan, Mahendra Chinthala, “Solar Light-Assisted Photocatalytic Conversion of Plastics into Hydrogen and Value-Added Chemicals” Plastic Degradation and Conversion by Photocatalysis (Volume 2): From Waste to Wealth, ACS, 2025.

Conference Publications

  1. Akash Balakrishnan, A. Sowmya, G. Keerthiga, Photocatalytic Degradation of 2,4- Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid using catalyst impregnated chitosan- optimization using RSM at International Conference on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology organized by organized by SRM Institute of Science and Technology during February 01 – 03, 2021 at Kattankulathur, Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
  2. Akash Balakrishnan, A. Sowmya, G. Keerthiga, “Continuous Photocatalytic Degradation of 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid using TiO2/Chitosan beads using a recirculating type photocatalytic reactor”, at Innovative and integrated approaches towards pollution abatement (IIAPA) organized by Department of Chemical Engineering, SRM Institute of Science and Technology during March 12-13 2020 at Kattankulathur, Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
  3. Akash Balakrishnan, A. Sowmya, G. Keerthiga, “Facile preparation of chitosan modified TiO2 beads via phase inversion method and their photocatalytic study”, at Research day 2020 at SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur, Chennai during February 28 2020.
  4. Akash Balakrishnan, A. Sowmya, G. Keerthiga, “Photocatalytic Degradation of 2,4- Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid using catalyst impregnated chitosan”, at the 4th international conference on recent advances in material chemistry (ICRAMC-2020) jointly organized by Department of Chemistry, SRM IST, Alternative energies and atomic energy commission France during February 19-21 2020 at Kattankulathur, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
  5. Akash Balakrishnan, A. Sowmya, G. Keerthiga, “Photocatalytic Degradation of 2,4- Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid using Chitosan/g-C3N4 beads under natural sunlight”, at International conference on sustainable technologies for desalination &national water mission & Annual congress of InDA (INDACON) jointly organized by Indian desalination association, and Indus University during February 13-15 2020 at Ahmadabad, Gujarat, India.
  6. Akash Balakrishnan, A. Sowmya, G. Keerthiga, Preparation of chitosan/g-C3N4 beads for the photocatalytic elimination of 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid using visible light, in Emerging trends in catalysis (ETC-2020) jointly organized by Department of Chemistry, VIT, Vellore and Royal Society of Chemistry, UK during January 6-8 2020 at Vellore, India.
  7. Akash Balakrishnan, A. Sowmya, G. Keerthiga, “Immobilized chitosan complexed TiO2 for photocatalytic degradation of 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid”, The 8th Asia- Pacific congress on catalysis (APCAT-8), jointly organized by Chulalangkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand and Asia-Pacific catalytic societies during August 4-7, 2019 at Central world Bangkok, Thailand
  8. Akash Balakrishnan, G. Keerthiga “Defluoridation of water using bio-adsorbents” International conference on Bioenergy, Environment and sustainable technologies 2018 at Arunai Engineering College Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu
  9. Akash Balakrishnan, J. Rukkesh, K. Bhavya, A. Vimal Kumar “Biopolymer synthesis using bacterial species and glycerol-end product of biodiesel” International Conference TECHNOSCAPE 2016 At VIT University Vellore Tamil Nadu

COURSES HANDLED

  • Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics
  • Fluid and Particle Mechanics
  • Catalyst Science and Catalytic Processes
  • Instrumentation and Process Control
  • Sustainable Engineering
  • Fuel Cell Technology
  • Petrochemicals and Fertilizers

AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

  • Listed Top 2% Scientist as per Stanford University and Elsevier
  • Winner and first runner up in south zone and national level in national green earth challenge organized by Prem Jain memorial trust, New Delhi.
  • Third Prize         in water theme under the          Ideas4life          competition organized           by Department of Environment, Forest, and Climate Chang, Government of India
  • Best Presentation Award at Indacon 2025, organized by Dalhousie University Canada and HBTU Kanpur
  • First rank in Chemical Engineering in M.Tech degree examinations at SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
  • Gold Medal for the Best Project in M.Tech at SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
  • AICTE-INAE (Government of India) awarded students travel grant fellowship to present research work at 8th Asia- Pacific catalysis congress at Bangkok, Thailand organized by Chulalongkorn University, Thailand and Asia-Pacific catalytic society, August 2019.
  • Fellowship for pursuing the doctoral degree awarded by Ministry of Education, Government of India.
  • SRM scholarship for pursuing M.Tech degree in Department of Chemical Engineering, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai
  • Shortlisted among 8 teams ODISHA pollution control board ideation hackathon competition
  • Best student award sponsored by the Indian Society of Technical Education
  • Reviewer in Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, Environmental Pollution, International journal of Biological macromolecules, Environmental Research, Diamond and related materials of Elsevier, Journal of Cleaner Production, Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, Chemical Engineering Journal, Chemosphere, Applied Surface Science  and Environmental Chemistry Letters of Springer

RESPONSIBILITIES HELD

  • Chief Staff Advisor: B. Tech 2024-28 Batch
  • Professional body coordinator
  • IIChE advisor
  • AIChE advisor
  • Department magazine editor