Ongoing Research

Scheme. Overview of Energy & Sustainability lab’s activity

Decarbonizing energy systems and reducing greenhouse gas emissions are critical priorities
due to the increasing global energy demand and pollution from fossil fuels. Hydrogen (H₂)
fuel is a promising alternative green energy source. However, the predominant industrial
methods for large-scale H₂ production—steam reforming and coal gasification—generate
CO₂, a significant greenhouse gas. Therefore, H₂ production through hybrid water
electrolysis combined with CO₂ mitigation represents a sustainable strategy.
Our research group (Energy & Sustainability lab) at IIT Gandhinagar is dedicated to
developing suitable catalysts for these purposes. We primarily employ electrochemistry and
photoelectrochemistry to carry out transformations and to understand the underlying
mechanisms. To elucidate these mechanisms and to identify and characterize the catalysts
and the transformed products, we use various spectroscopic tools.

Currently, our research goals are as follows:

(i) Photoelectrochemical biomass oxidation
(ii) CO 2 reduction beyond C 1 products
(iii) Electrochemical N-N bond formation
(iv) Development of anodic catalysts for acidic water electrolysis
(v) Role of electron proton transfer mediators in catalysis

Selected Publications:
1. “Quantitative electrocatalytic upcycling of polyethylene terephthalate plastic and its
oligomer with a cobalt-based one-dimensional coordination polymer having open metal sites
along with coproduction of Hydrogen”. Behera, S., Dinda, S., Saha, R., Mondal, B*. ACS
Catalysis 13 (2022): 469-474.

2. “Electrocatalytic Water Oxidation by Hydrolytically Stable Metal‐Organic Frameworks at
Both Neutral and Alkaline Medium: Inverse Relation of Dimensionality with Catalytic
Activity”. Dubey, S. K., Behera, S., Patra, M., Mondal, B*., Bhattacharjee, S*., Saha, R*.
ChemCatChem 15 (2023): e202300328.

3. “Demystifying the Role of Covalently Attached Electron–Proton Transfer Mediator in
Oxygen Reduction Reaction Catalyst”. Dinda, S., Siddiqui, A. I., Behera, S., Mondal, B*.
ACS Catalysis 13(2023): 12643-12647.

4. “The synergy between electrochemical substrate oxidation and the oxygen reduction
reaction to enable aerobic oxidation”. Behera, S., Aziz, S. T., Singla, N., Mondal, B*.
Chemical Communications 59 (2023): 11528-11531.

5. “Co–N–C/C Bifunctional Electrocatalyst for Dual Applications in Seawater Electrolysis
and Catalyst in Hydrazine Fuel Cells”. Behera, S., Chauhan, C., Mondal, B*. Small (2024):
2311946.