Ph.D in Materials Science from India Institute of Science, Bangalore, India
Post doctoral studies in Fuel cell materials - Southern University, Baton Rouge , LA , USA
RESEARCH, TEACHING, or OTHER INTERESTS
Multidisciplinary, Condensed Matter Physics, Inorganic Chemistry, Nuclear Energy and Engineering
Encountering Unprecedented Phase Transformation of Bentonite and Evaluating Its Extraction Efficiency To Sequester ReO4–(Surrogate of TcO4–) from a Simulated Radwaste Solution Abhinash Maharana, Vishnu Nagappan, Hrudananda Jena, Nibedita Samanta Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, 2026 Herein, we report an experimental investigation unraveling the thermal behavior of raw bentonite using in situ high-temperature X-ray diffraction, illustrating partial phase transformation which is not reported elsewhere to the best of our knowledge. The Le-Bail fit to the diffraction pattern, along with the surface morphology study, substantiates the partially formed phase to be zeolite-A. Despite the transformation, raw bentonite exhibited the highest porosimetry parameters at ambient temperature, and thus, it was directly employed for the extraction of perrhenate (ReO4–) ions, which are surrogates for radioactive pertechnetate (99TcO4–) ions, without any surface modification. The adsorption data fitted well with the Langmuir isotherm model (R2 = 0.978), estimating a maximum sorption capacity of 293 mg g–1 at pH ∼ 7, surpassing most minerals reported earlier. The XPS and FT-IR spectra validate the speciation of adsorbed rhenium. This work also paves the way for the extraction of 99TcO4– and other toxic anions.
Crystal structural evolution of Ru3Sn7 under pressure and its implication on possible electronic changes K A Irshad, P Anees, Hrudananda Jena, Boby Joseph Journal of Physics Condensed Matter, 2026 Ru 3 Sn 7 , an intermetallic compound with advanced catalytic properties, exhibits a complex crystal structure and intriguing electronic properties, making it an attractive candidate for investigations under high-pressure (HP). The structural, vibrational and electronic band structure of this compound were investigated at HP up to ∼20 GPa using synchrotron x-ray powder diffraction, micro-Raman, and density functional theory, respectively. Despite the local structural changes implied by a discernible reduction in the compressibility and distinct slope changes in the pressure evolution of the symmetric stretching vibrations of the Ru and Sn atoms around 8 GPa, the cubic structure is found to be stable throughout the pressure range. In support, our calculated phonon dispersion relation confirmed the stability of the cubic phase till the highest pressures. A comprehensive analysis of the Raman spectrum reveals the signatures of the pressure induced sudden strengthening of electron–phonon coupling (EPC) as early as 3 GPa which is backed by a bounce in the phonon and electron density of states (DOS). Electronic structure calculations demonstrate that the metallic nature of Ru 3 Sn 7 is preserved in the studied pressure range with a minor redistribution of electronic DOS across the Fermi level ( E F ). The band structure calculations predict intriguing changes in the electronic structure, revealing the pressure induced d–p hybridization through the high symmetry point of the Brillouin zone which is largely responsible for the observed reduction in the compressibility and enhancement of the EPC in Ru 3 Sn 7 .
Studies on PBI-Based Amperometric Sensor for Hydrogen Sensing for Application in Sodium Cooled Fast Reactor Sukumaran Velayutham, Murugesan Nachimuthu, Manikandan Palraj, Hrudananda Jena, Rajesh Ganesan, Jayaraman Venkataraman Chemistryselect, 2025 Hydrogen sensors play a crucial role in monitoring safety in the processes where hydrogen is released or handled in large quantities in fields like chemical and sodium cooled nuclear reactors. An electrochemical sensor in amperometric mode was developed and studied using proton conducting polymer electrolyte membrane of phosphoric acid (PA) doped polybenzimidazole (PBI) PA‐PBI. The PA‐PBI was characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to confirm PA doping. The electrolyte was sandwiched between platinum catalyst coated carbon paper gas diffusion electrodes and hot pressed to make an electrochemical cell. The assembled cell was investigated using an electrochemical impedance spectroscopy over a temperature range of 303–453 K to determine temperature dependent proton conductivity. Activation energy for proton conductivity of the electrolyte was determined to be 24.9 ± 2.7 kJ mol −1 . The cell was tested for hydrogen sensing behavior in the hydrogen concentration range of 0.00%–4.00% by keeping the sensor at the optimum temperature of 423 K. The sensor had good sensitivity of about 6.41 mA/% of H 2 in argon with a good repeatability. The sensor was also tested for its effects on relative humidity on hydrogen sensing, interference of the other reducing and oxidizing gases.
Enhancing the Electrochemical Oxygen Reduction Activity of PPy-Derived Porous Carbon through a Facile Ternary Doping Approach Sanjit Kumar Parida, Sukumaran Velayutham, Hrudananda Jena Energy and Fuels, 2025 Developing active and stable low-cost alternatives to Pt-based electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in electrochemical energy conversion and storage devices still remains a great challenge. Toward this approach, heteroatom-doped porous carbon catalysts form a promising class of cost-efficient, metal-free alternatives. Here, we report the design and synthesis of a B-, N-, and F-doped porous carbon catalyst (BNF-C) using the porous nitrogen-rich three-dimensional network of polypyrrole hydrogel. Our results indicate that the as-synthesized catalyst at 900 °C (BNF-C-900) featuring optimum physical and chemical attributes demonstrates excellent ORR performance in 0.1 M KOH with a half-wave potential ( E 1/2 ) of 0.810 V (vs RHE) along with good limiting current density and short-term stability by retaining ∼87% of its original current after 25 h of current–time response test at 0.7 V. Additionally, the catalyst demonstrates excellent 4e – selectivity toward ORR with high electron transfer number (∼3.90) and H 2 O 2 yield below 6.51% in the potential range 0.4–1.0 V. The facile design approach with unique 3D porous structure of the precursor can be employed for the convenient and scalable synthesis of various metal-free as well as metal-based catalysts for electrochemical applications.
Effect of sonochemical, regenerative sol gel, and microwave assisted synthesis techniques on the formation of dense electrolytes and porous electrodes for all perovskite IT-SOFCs Proceedings of 4th International ASME Conference on Fuel Cell Science Engineering and Technology Fuelcell2006, 2006
