Sudip Barman

This work involves the synthesis of a novel Co-MOF by a solvothermal method. Upon pyrolysis under a reducing atmosphere, it shows excellent electrochemical nitrate reduction with the highest faradaic efficiency of 95.76%.

Achieving both high catalytic activity and durable long‐term stability remains a key challenge for efficient water splitting across a wide pH range. Although RuO ₂ is decidedly active for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), its stability is compromised by over‐oxidation and dissolution under harsh conditions. In this study, we engineered carbon nitride (CN _x ) doped ruthenium molybdenum mixed oxide (RuO ₂ –MoO ₃ /CN _x ) which exhibits excellent bifunctional electrocatalytic performance toward both HER and OER in acidic and alkaline media. In 1 M KOH, it delivers low overpotentials of 19 mV for HER and 250 mV for OER at a current density of 10 mA/cm ² . Notably, the catalyst also maintains appreciable activity under acidic conditions. The superior performance of RuO ₂ –MoO ₃ /CN _x originates from oxygen spillover at the RuO ₂ –MoO ₃ interface, where reactive oxygen species migrate to MoO ₃ , suppressing over‐oxidation of Ru active sites and enhancing durability. Concurrently, strong interfacial electronic interactions optimize adsorption of reaction intermediates and accelerate kinetics. Together with high surface area, efficient mass and electron transport, these features enable excellent catalytic activity across both acidic and alkaline media, providing an effective strategy for the design of robust electrocatalysts for green and renewable energy conversion.

To overcome the instability of sodium‐ion cathode materials due to sodium losses and an unstable cathode electrolyte interface, the cathode additive method is an efficient approach; however, finding a cost‐effective additive with a low decomposition potential remains a challenge. This work identifies a sodium salt of thiocarbamate as an appropriate sodium compensating reagent. The thiocarbamate salt was found to effectively decompose into an amorphous N, S‐rich CEI at low voltage, simultaneously compensating for the sodium losses during cycling. When introduced as an additive to Na ₃ V ₂ (PO ₄ ) ₃ cathode, an addition of 10 wt.% extends the discharge capacity, charging behavior, and stability of the cathode. In the full cells, the use of the additive increases the energy density from 72.32 to 131.43 Wh kg ⁻¹ , indicating great prospects of thiocarbamate functionality in revitalizing sodium‐ion batteries for practical purposes.

Glycerol can be upcycled to various value‐added chemicals like glyceric acid, glyceraldehyde, dihydroxyacetone, tartronic acid and formic acid by the process of oxidation. These products have wide application in the pharmaceutical, leather auxiliary, food processing and agricultural industries. Whereas the thermal approaches are quite energy intensive, electrochemical glycerol oxidation reaction (GOR) facilitates a mild operational condition to do so. Here, the synthesis of novel cobalt‐based metal‐organic framework, Co‐1,3,5‐benezenetricarboxylic acid (H ₃ BTC)–4,4′‐Bipyridine (4,4′‐BiPy), was done via a solvothermal method using 4,4′‐BiPy and H ₃ BTC as linkers. Its controlled carbonisation at 600°C under a H ₂ /N ₂ atmosphere yields a nitrogen‐doped carbon‐supported cobalt nanoparticle composite (Co NPs@NC‐600). This catalyst exhibits excellent electrocatalytic performance for GOR, achieving a current density of 10 mA.cm ⁻² at 1.28 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) and a maximum Faradaic efficiency of ∼91.65%. The superior activity arises from its high surface area (150.65 m ² .g ⁻¹ ) and microporous structure (∼1.85 nm). Density functional theory calculations reveal lower activation barriers for key reaction steps and C–C bond cleavage on Co (111) surfaces compared to Co ₃ O ₄ (311) surface, supporting the observed catalytic enhancement. These findings position Co NPs@NC‐600 as a highly efficient and durable electrocatalyst for selective GOR, with strong potential for integrated green energy and chemical valorisation applications.

Electrochemical ethanol oxidation (EOR) is promising strategy for value‐added chemical production, such as acetic acid, while replacing energy intensive oxygen evolution reaction at the anode. However, developing efficient, affordable electrocatalysts is crucial for practical ethanol electrolysis to enhance the EOR kinetics, reduce overpotential, and minimize energy losses. In this context, we synthesized a nickel‐cobalt‐based metal‐organic framework (NiCo–MOF) as a precatalyst for ethanol oxidation. The NiCo oxyhydroxides were formed by the in situ reconstruction of the MOF during the cycling process. This reconstructed composite exhibits outstanding electrocatalytic performance toward EOR, achieving a current density of 10 mA/cm ² at 1.33 V (RHE). The reconstructed NiCo–MOF showed a maximum FE of ∼95.6% for acetate production at 50 mA/cm ² current density. The better catalytic activity of reconstructed NiCo–MOF compared to other samples is due to its strong synergistic interaction between Ni and Co, which facilitates the preoxidation, thereby increasing the EOR. The catalyst also possesses a stable ethanol electrolysis through 50 h. The overall ethanol electrolysis on the catalyst needs 220 mv less potential compared to water electrolysis at 10 mA/cm ² current density. The result suggests that in situ reconstructed bimetallic MOF could be an efficient electrocatalyst for alcohol electrooxidation for potential green energy integration.

CoNPs/NC-600, derived from 2D [Co(btbH) ₂ (dpe) ₂ ]·DMF MOF, show excellent NO ₃ RR performance with 72.25% FE and −66.03 mA cm ⁻² partial current density at −0.5 V vs . RHE.

Traditional graphite‐based anode materials perform poorly in sodium‐ion battery (SIB) due to their insufficient interlayer spacing. Hard carbon has received much attention as anode material for SIBs. Biomass materials are a perfect source of hard carbon precursors due to their inherent benefits and ability to be renewed. Herein, silicon/hard carbon (Si/HC‐X) composite is synthesized from Citrus limon leaves as a useful anode material for SIBs. The intrinsic doping of silicon in carbon matrixes increases interlayer distance as well as defects, which promotes mass transportability and Na ⁺ adsorption capacity. The optimized Si/HC‐1100 electrode shows ≈261 mAh g ⁻¹ of reversible specific capacity with ≈79.8% initial Coulombic efficiency (ICE). Additionally, the composite exhibits ≈87.4% capacity retention at 200 mA g ⁻¹ after 200 cycles. The plateau capacity increases from Si/HC‐900 to Si/HC‐1300 as the micro‐ and nanopores formation increases with increasing calcination temperature. The expanded‐interlayer distance contributes to the plateau capacities, whereas slope capacity arises due to adsorption of Na ⁺ on defects and open pores. The galvanostatic intermittent titration technique, ex‐situ XRD and Raman analysis suggest “adsorption‐intercalation‐pore filling” mechanism, where intercalation contributes more to the plateau capacity of Si/HC‐1100. Moreover, the full‐cell (Si/HC‐1100||Na ₃ V ₂ (PO ₄ ) ₃ ) achieves a maximum 207 mAhg ⁻¹ reversible capacity from the anode side and remarkable cycle stability.