Mahesh Shastri

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries has gained a lot of attention because of its high energy density (2567 Whkg−1), great earth abundance, and low impact on the environment. The excellent theoretical performance of Li-S batteries is compromised by major technical challenges like low sulfur utilization rate, reduced columbic efficiency, and poor cycling stability due to the insulating nature of sulfur and the shuttle effect of soluble lithium polysulfides. To overcome these concerns, herewith, made an attempt to synthesise Sulfur -reduced graphene oxide (S-RGO) nanocomposite by rapid fast heating technique. Using the solution-based rapid heating method, sulfur nanoparticles uniformly distributed on graphene oxide network. Furher, deployed in fabricating Li-S cathode. The S-RGO composite with 80 wt% sulfur exhibits promising results. Initially, at 0.05 C rate discharge current shows 1230 mAh/g capacity and at 0.1 C rate shows 1085 mAh/g. After 50 cycles, the capacity was retained with 1030 mAh/g at 0.05C and 957 mAh/g at 0.1C. This suggests that the the synthesised Li-S nanocomposite exhibit good capacity at higher current rate with greater sulfur content. Expression of concern (20 January 2026). This article is currently under investigation following an allegation that raises concerns over the citations and originality of the work. As a member of COPE this is being investigated in accordance with the COPE guidelines, and as such an expression of concern is applied.

In present work, a simple hydrothermal method is employed for the synthesis of silk cocoon-ZnO micro-nanocomposite and investigation of their gas sensing is reported. The ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized using hydrothermal methods and coated on the surface of silk cocoon layers using a simple doctor-blade method. The as-prepared silk cocoon-ZnO micro-nanocomposite materials were analyzed using X-ray diffractometer (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and IV characteristics. The results confirm the formation of pure ZnO and silk cocoon-ZnO micro-nanocomposite with rod-like morphology. The surface of silk cocoon fibers was uniformly coated with ZnO nanorods. The gas sensing property of the as-prepared silk cocoon-ZnO micro-nanocomposite was evaluated against the leakage of LPG gas at room temperature. Voltage-Time curve analysis was performed and found that with the detection of LPG gas there is an increase in the voltage. Based on the present findings, it is proposed that silk cocoon-ZnO micro-nanocomposite based devices will be suitable for light weight, biocompatible and low-cost gas sensors.

Layered 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMD’s) have been considered as an important class of materials in the field of energy and environmental applications. Therefore, it is desirable to fabricate 2D hybrid TMD’s materials in simple solution processing methods. In this study, MoS2-RGO hybrid 2D few layered sheets are produced by supercritical fluid process (SCF) by using ethanol as solvent at 250 ºC in a short duration of 0.5 h. Atomic force microscopy (AFM), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) images confirmed the formation of 2D hybrid few layered sheets. The electrochemical impedance measurement indicates fivefold increase in conductivity of bulk MoS2. This work presents rapid and one pot exfoliation of MoS2 and simultaneous reduction of GO that can facilitate the production of 2D hybrid materials.

In this study, a silk cocoon layer (SCL) was surface coated with polyaniline (PANI), which serves as an electrode for thermoelectric generator (TEG) application. Here, the PANI was synthesized using the sol-gel method and coated on both sides of SCL using doctor-blade method. The efficiency of converting thermal energy into electrical energy was analyzed with a temperature range from 30 to 60 ºC. The TG-DTA analysis was performed to evaluate thermal stability. An evident change in the resistance was noticed for both cold (~5 °C) and heat (60 ºC) respective temperatures. Thus, this study provides a new biomaterial-based TEG electrode for waste heat recovery system/thermal management.

In present study, the synthesis of spinel MnFe2O4 nanoparticles using a facile one-pot super critical fluid method and their application for Mg-ion battery application as anode materials is reported. The synthesized MnFe2O4 nanoparticles were well characterized for their structure and morphology using XRD, SEM, TEM and EDS analysis. The average particle size of materials was less than 50 nm with spinel structure. The main feature of magnesium ion battery is its high specific capacity and large volumetric energy density, which makes it a promising alternative to Li-ion batteries. The spinel MnFe2O4 material has been used as an anode material for Mg-ion batteries. At different C-rates (0.05C to 2C), electrochemical charge-discharge behaviour has been observed. In first cycle of the phase-pure spinel structured anode, an initial specific capacity of 195.82 mAh/g, 139.70 mAh/g, 25.04 mAh/g and 14.16 mAh/g were obtained at C rate of 0.05C, 0.1C, 1C and 2C, respectively. A possible phase conversion reaction of the anode resulted in a decrease in specific capacity with increasing C-rate.