Faculty

Professor Singhal is Assistant Professor at School of Engineering and Applied Science, Ahmedabad University. She has Master's and PhD dergree in Chemistry from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee. There after she pursued post doctorate from University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) and Arizona State University (ASU), USA. She also has teaching experience at colleges in USA and India. Her research interest includes synthesis and properties of nanoparticles and core shell systems via different routes, inorganic synthesis and electrochemistry of materials. Further interests include, studying the interaction of the inorganic/organic composites with biomolecules and environmental implication of these nanoparticles for water purification process.  

• Synthesis and properties of nanoparticles and core shell systems via different routes
• Inorganic synthesis and electrochemsitry of materials.
• Interaction of the inorganic/organic composites with biomolecules and environmental implication of these materials
• Geopolymers for water purification 

Externally Funded Programs
1. Title: Nanocrystalline substituted cobalt based metal oxides for oxygen evolution reaction: A prerequisite for photochemical water splitting
Role: PI
Project Duration: 3 year (2017-2020)
Funding Organization: DST-SERB Extra Mural Research Award (EMR)
Funding Amount: Approx. Rs. 34 Lakhs

Summary: Clean and environmental friendly energy is the most important need of the 21st century. It is well known that the use of fossil fuels causes problems connected with source availability as well as with environmental compatibility. Hydrogen is going to be an important part of future energy systems and therefore, electrocatalysts that will evolve hydrogen with the lowest possible energy consumption will be very important. Electrocatalysis of water can be the best way to bridge the global energy supply between the present era of fossil fuels and the future era based on hydrogen economy. Water splitting, however, is controlled by difficult oxygen evolution reaction (OER) step because it involves 4 electrons and 4 protons transfer. If an efficient catalyst for OER could be developed, hydrogen can be produced efficiently by combining the catalyst with a solar device. In this way, oxygen and hydrogen can be generated without hampering the environment.
In this context, the current project focuses on designing more advanced cobalt based metal oxides and substituting them with transition metals. Cobalt oxide based materials have been chosen because they are economical and have shown promising activity towards OER recently. Prepared materials will be used as oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts with the aim to get higher catalytic activity in terms of low overpotential and high current density. The catalytic OER on one hand will give oxygen and on other hand it will also provide cost-effective route for clean, renewable hydrogen fuel which will be able to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels and also result in minimizing the environmental pollution.
 

1. Subramanian Nellaiappan , Navneet Jhariya, Silvia Irusta, Aditi Singhal*, “Platinum substituted Cobalt(II, III) Oxide: Interplay of tetrahedral Co (II) sites towards electrochemical oxygen evolution activity”, Electrochimica Acta, 365, 137234, 2021 (IF -6.2)

2. Vishal Vats and Aditi Singhal^*_, ^“Effect of Ru substitution in La_0.85Sr_0.15CoO₃ towards oxygen evolution reaction: Activity of ionic Ru”, Electroanalysis, 32, 1-10, 2020 (IE – 2.54)

3. Divya Vyas, Aditi Singhal and Sudhanshu Sharma, “One step rapid synthesis of Mesoporous high surface area Sn_1-xSb_xO₂: Electrochemical and scanning tunneling spectroscopic studies”, J. Phys. Chem.  Solids, 123, 355-363, 2018 (IF- 2.21)

4. Aditi Singhal*, Anuj Bisth and Silvia Irusta “Enhanced oxygen evolution activity of Co_3-xNi_xO₄ compared to Co₃O₄ by low Ni doping”, J. Electroanal. Chem.,823 ,482-491, 2018 (IF -3.2)

5. Aditi Singhal* and Mary Laura Lind, “Removal of pesticide toxicity by cysteine capped Ag nanoparticles and study of their adsorption kinetics”, Int. J. Nanomedicines, 13, 25-29, 2018 (IF-4.4)

6. Aditi Singhal*, Bhanu P Gangwar, Gayathry J M, “CTAB modified large surface area Nanoporous Geopolymer with high adsorption capacity for copper ion removal”, Applied Clay Science, 150, 106-114, 2017 (IF -3.1)

7. Manjusha Padole, Bhanu Gangwar, Aman Pandey, Aditi Singhal, Sudhanshu Sharma, Parag Deshpande, “Adsorption of C₂ gases over CeO₂-based catalysts: Synergism of cationic sites and anionic vacancies”, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 19, 14148-14159, 2017 (IF -4.5)

8. Aditi Singhal*, Anuj Bisht, Amit Kumar, Sudhanshu Sharma*, “One pot, rapid synthesis of Co₃O₄ by solution combustion method and its electrochemical properties in different electrolytes”, J. Electroanalytical Chemistry, 776, 152-161, 2016 (IF -3.2)

9. Sudhanshu Sharma, Kanchari Sravan Kumar, Yash Chandnani, Sai Phani Kumar, Bhanu Gangwar, Aditi Singhal, Parag Deshpande, “Mechanistic insights into CO₂ Methanation Over Ru-substituted CeO₂”, J. Phys. Chem. C, 120 (26),14101–14112, 2016 (IF – 4.5)

10. John H. Priester, Aditi Singhal, Binghui Wu, Galen D. Stucky and Patricia A. Holden, “Integrated approach to evaluating the toxicity of novel cysteine-capped silver nanoparticles to Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa”, Analyst, 139, 954-963, 2014 (IF – 4.1)

11. Anil Kumar and Aditi Singhal, “Optical and magnetic behavior of Ag encapsulated β-Fe₂O₃ core-shell hollow nanotubes”, Mat Chem. and Phys., 131, 230–240, 2011 (IF – 2.3)

12. Anil Kumar and Aditi Singhal, “Optical, photophysical and magnetic behaviour of GMP-templated binary (β-Fe₂O₃/CdS) and ternary (β-Fe₂O₃/Ag/CdS) nanohybrids” J. Mater. Chem., 21, 481–496, 2011 (IF – 6.6)

13. Anil Kumar and Aditi Singhal, “Synthesis of colloidal silver iron oxide nanoparticles - study of their optical and magnetic behaviour”, Nanotechnology, 20, 295606, 2009 (IF – 3.5)

14. Anil Kumar and Aditi Singhal, “Synthesis of colloidal β-Fe₂O₃ nanostructures - influence of addition of Co²⁺ on their morphology and magnetic behaviour”, Nanotechnology, 18, 475703, 2007 (IF – 3.5)

• Chemistry: BTech (CHEM, MECH) Semester I-II and iMSc (Life Science) Semester I-II: Winter 2020, Monsoon 2020, Winter 2021, Monsoon 2021, Winter 2022, Monsoon 2022
• Catalysis and Catalytic Processes: BTech (CHEM) Semester VII, PhD: Monsoon 2017, Monsoon 2018, Monsoon 2020, Monsoon 2021, Monsoon 2022
• Physical Chemistry: BTech (CHEM) Semester II and iMSc (Life Science) Semester II: Winter 2016, Winter 2017, Winter 2018
• Physical Chemistry Lab: BTech (CHEM) Semester II: Winter 2016, Winter 2017, Winter 2018
• Inorganic Chemistry: BTech (CHEM) Semester I, III and iMSc (Life Science) Semester III: Monsoon 2015, Monsoon 2016, Monsoon 2017, Monsoon 2018
• Inorganic Chemistry Lab: BTech (CHEM) Semester I, III: Monsoon 2015, Monsoon 2016, Monsoon 2017, Monsoon 2018
• Environmental Studies: BTech (ICT) Semester II: Winter 2015, Winter 2017
• Analytical Chemistry: BTech (CHEM) Semester II: Winter 2015
• General Chemistry: BTech (CHEM, MECH) Semester I: Monsoon 2014

• Life member, Chemical Research Society of India (CRSI)
• Life member, Materials Research Society of India (MRSI)
• Member, Society of Material Chemistry (SMC, BARC)

       Rewiever of Journals:

• Applied Surface Science (Elsevier)
• Applied Clay Science (Elsevier)
• Journal of Hazardous Materials (Elsevier)
• Chemelectrochem (Wiley)
• Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry (Elsevier)
• ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering (ACS)
• ACS Omega (ACS)

Conference presentations and Posters

International conference on “Nanotechnology:Ideas, Innovation Initiatives  (ICN31-2017)” held at IIT Roorkee, Dec 6-8, 2017, Roorkee, India (Oral Presentation)

International conference on “Nanotechnology:Ideas, Innovation Initiatives  (ICN31-2017)” held at IIT Roorkee, Dec 6-8, 2017, Roorkee, India (As session chair)

231st ECS Meeting organized by The Electrochemical Society held at New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, May 28- June 1, 2017 (Oral Presentation)

International Conference of Young Researchers on “Advanced Materials” organized by International Union of Materials Research Society (IUMRS-ICYRAM 2016) and Materials Research Society of India (MRSI) held at Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Dec 11-15, 2016, Bangalore, India (Oral Presentation)

International Conference on “Recent Advances in Analytical Science” RAAS-2016 held at Department of Chemistry IIT-BHU, April 7-9, 2016, Varanasi, India (Oral Presentation)

National Symposium on “Emerging Trends in Applied Chemical Sciences” ETACS-2016 held at Central University of Rajasthan, March 18, 2016, Rajasthan, India (Poster)

International Conference “Nanostructured Polymeric Materials and Polymer Nanocomposites” held at Mahatma Gandhi University, Nov 13-15, 2015, Kottayam, Kerala, India (Invited Speaker)

International Conference “Nanostructured Polymeric Materials and Polymer Nanocomposites” held at Mahatma Gandhi University, Nov 13-15, 2015, Kottayam, Kerala, India (As a session chair)

International Conference “T-Nano” held at Institute of Life Sciences, Ahmedabad University, Dec 15-17, 2014, Ahmedabad, India (Poster)

International Conference “Nanomaterials and Devices: Processing and Applications” held at IIT Roorkee, Dec 11-13, 2008, Roorkee, India (Oral Presentation)

International Conference on “Nanomaterials and Devices: Processing and Applications” held at IIT Roorkee, Dec 11-13, 2008, Roorkee, India (Awarded 2nd prize in Poster Session)

Conferences and Workshops participation

Conference “ChemCatCon 2.0 on Heterogeneous catalysis: reactions on surfaces” organized by Chemistry Discipline, IIT Gandhinagar, May 14-15, 2022, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India

Online conference “ChemCatCon 1.0 on Heterogeneous catalysis: reactions on surfaces” organized by Chemistry Discipline, IIT Gandhinagar, July 11-12, 2020, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India

School on "Electrochemsitry" organized by IIT Gandhinagar in collaboration with Metrohm, India Limited, July 24-25, 2017, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India

UK-India Newton Researchers Link Workshop on "Rational Designing of Catalysts for the Sustainable Production of Fuels and Chemicals" held in IIT-Madras, Chennai, 1-4 Nov 2016, Chennai, India

Workshop on "Essential Skills for the 21st Century Researchers" organized by GTU innovation council in collaboration with SkyQuest Technology group, Jan 07, 2016, Ahmedabad, India

Workshop on “Project Based Learning” organized by Ahmedabad University, conducted by Prof Lynn from Olin College of engineering USA, Oct 12, 2015, Ahmedabad, India

National Workshop "Indigenous Water, Wastewater and Solid Waste Treatment Technologies" organized by The Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India, Jan 19, 2015, Ahmedabad, India

Eleventh ISEAC International Discussion Meet “Electrochemistry and Its Applications” organized by Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Feb 20-25, 2014, Amritsar, Punjab, India

Workshop “Electron Microscopy and Their Usage for Nanotechnology Related Research Work” held at Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IITR), Oct 3-10, 2007, Roorkee, India

National workshop “Techniques and Challenges for Structure Solution in Chemical Crystallography” held at Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IITR), Aug 31 – Sep1, 2007, Roorkee, India

22nd Conference of Indian Council of Chemists “Thrust Areas in Chemistry” held at Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IITR), Oct 17-19, 2003, Roorkee, India

Invited Talks

Talk on “Interplay of tetrahedral Co(II) sites towards electrochemical oxygen evolution” at International conference on Beyond Fossil Fuels: The Future of Alternative Energy Technologies (B: FAT-2020), July 23rd-25th, 2022,  IIT (BHU) Varanasi, India

Talk on “Electrocatalysis” at workshop on electrocatalytic training at Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar (IITGn), May 16, 2022, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India

Talk on “Role of lattice oxygen in enhancing OER activity over doped metal oxide” 3rd National Conference on Materials for Energy Conversion and Storage, October 18-20, 2018 in IIT (BHU) Varanasi, India

Talk on “Electrochemical properties of spinel cobalt oxide in different electrolytes”, National Conference on Recent Frontiers in Chemistry (NCRFC), Department of Chemistry, HNB Garhwal Central University, April 27-28, 2018, Srinagar Garhwal Uttarakhand

Talk on "Enhancement in OER activity by low Ni doping in Co3O4:Role of lattice oxygen and Ionicity” Symposium on "Chemistry of Materials and Biological” at Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar (IITGn), Jan 5, 2018, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India

Talk on “Electrocatalysis: A perspective on materials, reaction and mechanism” at Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar (IITGn), July 25, 2017, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India

Talk on “Nanomaterial Chemistry and Instrumentation Techniques” at Shroff S. R. Rotary Institute of Chemical Technology (SRICT), May 4, 2016, Ankleshwar, Gujarat, India

Talk on “Chemistry of Nanoparticles from Their Physical Property to Environmental Impact” Supplementary Teaching Recourse at STTP Government Polytechnic Gandhinagar, Nov 2-6, 2015, Gujarat, India