S. Govindan

Bio: S. Govindan is an academic researcher from University of Madras. The author has contributed to research in topics: Nanocomposite & Visible spectrum. The author has an hindex of 2, co-authored 2 publications receiving 152 citations.

Synthesis and characterization of chitosan-silver nanocomposite

Abstract: Chitosan–silver (CS–Ag) nanocomposite materials were synthesized by a simple chemical method. The synthesized CS–Ag nanocomposite contains 20 wt% silver. Silver nanoparticles were synthesized by chemical reduction method as well. The CS–Ag nanocomposite was characterized using Field emission scanning electronic microscope (FESEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The XRD pattern indicated the presence of both silver and chitosan in the nanocomposite. It is observed from the XRD pattern of silver that it is of cubic structure. The spherical morphology of silver nanoparticles was confirmed from the FESEM image. FTIR spectroscopy was used for the structural elucidation. CS–Ag nanocomposite exhibits good antimicrobial and antitumor properties.

Photocatalytic Degradation of Organic Dyes Using ZnO/CeO2 Nanocomposite Material under Visible Light

Abstract: Nanorods of ZnO/CeO2 were synthesized by thermal decomposition method. The decomposition temperature and formation of composite material were confirmed by the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) before the synthesis process. The prepared samples were characterized by different techniques. The structural and morphological properties of ZnO/CeO2 nanorods were confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and high resolution scanning electron microscopy (HR-SEM). The chemical composition and specific surface area analysis were done by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) method. Further the catalyst was used for photocatalytic degradation of organic dye under visible light irradiation

Ce3+-ion-induced visible-light photocatalytic degradation and electrochemical activity of ZnO/CeO2 nanocomposite

Abstract: In this study, pure ZnO, CeO2 and ZnO/CeO2 nanocomposites were synthesized using a thermal decomposition method and subsequently characterized using different standard techniques. High-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements confirmed the oxidation states and presence of Zn(2+), Ce(4+), Ce(3+) and different bonded oxygen species in the nanocomposites. The prepared pure ZnO and CeO2 as well as the ZnO/CeO2 nanocomposites with various proportions of ZnO and CeO2 were tested for photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange, methylene blue and phenol under visible-light irradiation. The optimized and highly efficient ZnO/CeO2 (90:10) nanocomposite exhibited enhanced photocatalytic degradation performance for the degradation of methyl orange, methylene blue, and phenol as well as industrial textile effluent compared to ZnO, CeO2 and the other investigated nanocomposites. Moreover, the recycling results demonstrate that the ZnO/CeO2 (90:10) nanocomposite exhibited good stability and long-term durability. Furthermore, the prepared ZnO/CeO2 nanocomposites were used for the electrochemical detection of uric acid and ascorbic acid. The ZnO/CeO2 (90:10) nanocomposite also demonstrated the best detection, sensitivity and performance among the investigated materials in this application. These findings suggest that the synthesized ZnO/CeO2 (90:10) nanocomposite could be effectively used in various applications.