Latest news with #PKGiri
Time of India
01-05-2025
- Science
- Time of India
IIT Guwahati researchers create breakthrough material that tackles pollution, powers gadgets
Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati ( IIT-G ) scientists have created a breakthrough material that can clean industrial wastewater, separate oil spills, and possibly power wearable sensors . This low-cost, sustainable material could transform pollution control and clean tech, with efforts underway to scale it for industry use, the team said. #Pahalgam Terrorist Attack Nuclear Power! How India and Pakistan's arsenals stack up Does America have a plan to capture Pakistan's nuclear weapons? Airspace blockade: India plots a flight path to skip Pakistan The study introduces a cutting-edge material – aerogels, engineered to tackle industrial waste in multiple ways. Aerogels are ultra-lightweight, highly porous materials with a large surface area and exceptional adsorption properties, making them ideal for environmental and industrial applications. IIT-G researchers said that while conventional methods such as membrane filtration and chemical precipitation are widely used, Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) have gained increasing attention for their effectiveness in degrading pollutants. 'Particularly, peroxymonosulfate (PMS)-activated AOPs stand out for generating reactive sulfate and hydroxyl radicals, capable of breaking down complex organic molecules even at low concentrations,' IIT Guwahati said. The team developed a hybrid aerogel by combining MXene, a two-dimensional material known for its high conductivity and chemical reactivity, with carbon foam. By introducing phosphorus doping into the MXene framework, the researchers improved its PMS activation capability, which could break down organic pollutants in wastewater. The aerogel also exhibited excellent performance in oil-water separation. Its porous quality selectively absorbs oil while repelling water, making it highly effective for cleaning up oil spills and treating industrial effluents. Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories PK Giri, Department of Physics and Centre for Nanotechnology, said, 'The hybrid aerogel we developed shows promising results in wastewater purification, oil-water separation, and strain sensing, combining environmental sustainability with practical versatility.' The research team added that the aerogel also functions as a flexible strain sensor. 'Its electrical resistance changes in response to mechanical stress, opening applications in wearable electronics, smart devices, and structural health monitoring systems,' they said. Although the Ti3C2Tx-based hybrid aerogel demonstrates excellent performance, its conventional HF-based synthesis raises significant environmental and toxicity concerns, the study highlighted. Researchers are exploring acid-free synthesis routes for large-scale applications.
India Today
01-05-2025
- Science
- India Today
Cleaning oil-spilled water now easier with IIT Guwahati's indigenous aerogel
A group of scholars at the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati has introduced a strange material that can potentially cure most ailments of our era. Headed by Professor PK Giri of the Department of Physics and Centre for Nanotechnology, the team has formed a new type of aerogel - light, porous, and full of new compound, created through the combination of a material known as MXene with carbon foam, has been very proficient in purifying waste from water and demixing oil from researchers enhanced the power of the MXene by adding phosphorus to it, which broke down toxic substances that are commonly present in water utilized by industrial or agricultural use. These substances are dyes, antibiotics, and oils that do not dissolve in published their results in the journal Carbon, and four young researchers - Mr. Koushik Ghosh, Mr. Sanjoy Sur Roy, Mr. Sirsendu Ghosal, and Mr. Debabrata Sahu - assisted in the pure water in short supply and contamination on the increase, most seek improved methods of treating wastewater. Although older technology is available, utilising strong chemical processes like the Peroxymonosulfate (PMS) system is gaining new aerogel can awaken this chemical to work more intensely and only does this substance purify water, but it also performs as a suitable oil remover. Its small pores absorb oil without allowing water through, so it's helpful when cleaning spills and cleaning factory to many, this aerogel also adjusts its electric resistance when bent or compressed, finding application in wearable devices and construction the process employed to produce this aerogel is problematic because of the use of concentrated acid, the group now looks for safer methods to produce it and aims to strengthen it by incorporating another assisting one material can soon replace many—cleaning, separating, and sensing—providing a cleaner future in plain Watch
