Research

Research in my group is focused on the development/synthesis of novel heterojunction photocatalysts and porous adsorbents for separation/degradation of emerging contaminants in water. We use various porous materials, like, metal organic frameworks (MOFs), graphitic carbon nitride (gCN), etc., to combine with other semiconductors (i.e., MoS₂, Bi₂S₃, CeO₂) to synthesize binary and ternary heterojunction photocatalysts and ceramic based mixed matrix catalytic media for oxidative degradation of refractory organic contaminants in water. We also develop MOF based adsorbents and mixed matrix MOF-polymer composite media for separation of heavy metals from groundwater and industrial effluent. We use different techniques for material characterization, water analysis and degradation pathway determination. Theoretical modeling is also used to predict breakthrough characteristics of adsorption columns.

We are also interested in the synthesis of functional and charged polymer based ion-exchange membranes (IEMs) and their application in selective separation of monovalent ions from multicomponent mixtures. We also develop functional electrode based electrosorption technique for selective separation of different ionic contaminants, like, borate, arsenate and rare earth metals.