Seminar on Green Chemistry and Catalysis to Achieve SDGs

The energy crisis and environmental deterioration have now been recognized as major problems around the world. Large-scale combustion of fossil fuels and their rapid depletion both pose challenges. The utilization of solar energy for the production of chemical fuels is an attractive and potential alternative to address both the global energy crisis and several environmental issues.

Dr. Venkata Krishnan's research group, working in the field of Green Chemistry and Heterogeneous Catalysis for Energy and Environmental Applications at IIT Mandi has recently developed several two dimensional carbon (reduced
graphene oxide and graphitic carbon nitride) supported nanostructured photocatalysts based on
semiconductors, plasmonic materials, perovskite structures and upconversion nanoparticles. These can utilize
the full solar spectrum from ultraviolet to infrared regions for energy generation and environmental
remediation applications. In addition to photocatalytic hydrogen generation, nitrogen fixation and pollutants
degradation, the research group has also utilized these materials for biomass conversion, carbon dioxide reduction and
Green organic transformations, either by doping with a heteroatom or by functionalization or by preparing a
composite with other material. The highlights of the ongoing research work of this group will be presented under the aegis of this Seminar being organized by the Department of Chemistry, IIT Palakkad.