Binitha N Narayanan

Title : Green Synthesis of CeO2/graphene Nanocomposite for Cyclohexene Epoxidation

Abstract:

Liquid phase exfoliation of graphite has the advantage of producing high-quality graphene sheets. But the successful solvents chosen for graphene production via graphite exfoliation are toxic in nature and the yield is also limited. The commonly employed graphite oxide assisted route proceeds in a highly corrosive medium liberating enormous pollutant gases. Here a surfactant assisted exfoliation of graphite is preferred due to the improved yield of graphene and the eco-friendly nature of the process. Water is employed as the exfoliating agent in the presence of Pluronic triblock copolymer P123 surfactant. Incorporation of CeO₂ is performed via hydrothermal treatment of the cerium hydroxide – graphene dispersion. Material characterization studies revealed the presence of fluorite structure of ceria and exfoliated nature of graphite. The prepared nanocomposite is effectively used in the oxidation of cyclohexene using hydrogen peroxide with a very high selectivity to cyclohexene epoxide.

Audience take-away: 

• A green preparation method of graphene that can be used as an alternate to commonly investigated graphite oxide assisted routes.
• The whole preparation can be done in aqueous medium without employing any drastic oxidizing medium in graphene preparation.
• Audience can extend this green method of preparation of graphene for the preparation of different composites of graphene in aqueous medium. This preparation can be taken as a model of practicing green chemistry in graphene preparation. Can be executed as a prototypical for nanomaterial preparation even in UG laboratories.

Biography:

Dr. Binitha N Narayanan studied Chemistry at the Cochin University of Science and Technology, India and graduated as MSc in Applied Chemistry in 2001. She then joined the research group of Prof. Sugunan S at the Department of Applied Chemistry, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kochi, India. She received her PhD degree in 2007 at the same institution. She joined as Assistant Professor in Chemistry at Sree Neelakanta Govt. Sanskrit College Pattambi in 2006 and meanwhile had done one-year postdoctoral fellowship (2008-2009) supervised by Prof. Dr Zahira Yaakob at the Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, National University of Malaysia, Malaysia. She was an Associate professor at Sree Neelakanta Govt. Sanskrit College Pattambi from 2019-2022. She moved to University of Calicut as Professor in the Department of Chemistry in March 2022. She has published more than 60 research articles in SCI(E) journals.