Ongoing Research
Decarbonizing energy systems and reducing greenhouse gas emissions are critical priorities as global energy demand and fossil-fuel pollution increase. Hydrogen (H₂) is a promising green energy carrier, but conventional large-scale production — steam reforming and coal gasification — generates CO₂. H₂ production through hybrid water electrolysis combined with CO₂ mitigation is therefore a sustainable strategy our group is built around. We primarily use electrochemistry and photoelectrochemistry to carry out transformations and understand the underlying mechanisms, supported by a range of spectroscopic tools to characterize catalysts and products.
Current Research Goals
Photoelectrochemical biomass oxidation
CO₂ reduction beyond C₁ products
Electrochemical N–N bond formation
Development of anodic catalysts for acidic water electrolysis
Role of electron proton transfer mediators in catalysis
Selected Publications
Behera, S., Dinda, S., Saha, R., Mondal, B.* — “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.” ACS Catalysis 13 (2022): 469–474.
Dubey, S. K., Behera, S., Patra, M., Mondal, B.*, Bhattacharjee, S.*, Saha, R.* — “Electrocatalytic Water Oxidation by Hydrolytically Stable Metal-Organic Frameworks at Both Neutral and Alkaline Medium.” ChemCatChem 15 (2023): e202300328.
Dinda, S., Siddiqui, A. I., Behera, S., Mondal, B.* — “Demystifying the Role of Covalently Attached Electron–Proton Transfer Mediator in Oxygen Reduction Reaction Catalyst.” ACS Catalysis 13 (2023): 12643–12647.
Behera, S., Aziz, S. T., Singla, N., Mondal, B.* — “The synergy between electrochemical substrate oxidation and the oxygen reduction reaction to enable aerobic oxidation.” Chemical Communications 59 (2023): 11528–11531.
Behera, S., Chauhan, C., Mondal, B.* — “Co–N–C/C Bifunctional Electrocatalyst for Dual Applications in Seawater Electrolysis and Catalyst in Hydrazine Fuel Cells.” Small (2024): 2311946.