Faculty

• Heterogeneous Catalysis 
• Electrochemistry
• Synthesis and properties of nanoparticles via different routes
• Inorganic synthesis with catalytic and electrochemical studies of these materials.
• Interaction of 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. Akanksha Sharma, Aditi Singhal, “Tuning Catalytic Selectivity at the MetalSupport Interface: Review and Outlook on Copper-Based Systems for Sustainable CO2 Electroreduction”, ACS Energy and Fuels,  2026 40 (32): 17361–17382, Scimago ranking – Q1 (IF – 6.0)

2. Rajeshree Liya and Aditi Singhal*, “Designing La-Based Non-Equimolar High-Entropy Metal Oxides (HEMOs) for Superior Oxygen Evolution Reaction” ACS Appl. Energy Materials (2026) 9 (13): 8648–8660 Scimago ranking – Q1 (IF – 5.5)

3. Rajeshree Liya and Aditi Singhal*, “Synergistic Oxygen Evolution Catalysis in Intergrown LaNiO3-NiCo2O4 Perovskite Spinel Nanocomposite” ACS Applied Engineering Materials, 2026, Scimago ranking – Q2 (IF – 3.5)

4. Akanksha Sharma, Supriya Pathak, Aditi Singhal* “CuZn Alloy-Supported Co3O4:An Effective CO2 Electroreduction Catalyst for Selective CO and Alcohol Formation” Langmuir, 2026, 42, 19, 13754–13767, Scimago ranking – Q1 (IF – 4.0)

5. Akanksha Sharma, Aditi Singhal, CO2 Electroreduction to CO using Cu-supported NiO catalyst: XPS evidence of redox interaction between metal and support”, Chemistry Select, 2025, 1-10, Scimago ranking – Q2 (IF – 2.0)

6. Shreyas Patel, Aditi Singhal, “Microfluidic Paper-Based Analytical Devices for On-Site Detection of Pharmaceuticals and Drugs of Abuse: A Review of Applications and Innovations”, Current Forensic Science, 2025

7. Akanksha Sharma, Yati, Sanyam, Anirban Mondal, Sudhanshu Sharma and Aditi Singhal* “CO2 Electroreduction Using Cu Supported Co3O4 Catalyst For Multi-Electron Product Formation via Metal Support Interaction” ChemNanoMat, 2025, 1-16, Scimago ranking – Q2 (IF – 2.6)

8. Divya Vyas, Shikha Dhakar, Aditi Singhal*, Sudhanshu Sharma, “Preparation and Oxygen Evolution Reaction on Nanoporous Semi-transparent La0.8Sr0.2CoO3 Coatings: Stability and Mechanism in Neutral Medium”, Topics in Catalysis, 2024, 1-11, Scimago ranking – Q2 (IF – 3.0)

9. Rajeshree Liya, Rajpreet Kour, Sudhanshu Sharma, and Aditi Singhal* “Rhodium Substituted La0.85Sr0.15CoO3: An Active Oxygen Evolution Electrocatalyst Based upon Ionic Rhodium”. J. Phys. Chem. C 2024, 128, 2484−2492, Scimago ranking – Q1 (IF – 3.2)

10. 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, Scimago ranking – Q1 (IF – 5.6)

11. Vishal Vats and Aditi Singhal*, “Effect of Ru substitution in La0.85Sr0.15CoO3 towards oxygen evolution reaction: Activity of ionic Ru”, Electroanalysis, 32, 1-10, 2020, Scimago ranking – Q3 (IF – 2.3)

12. Divya Vyas, Aditi Singhal* and Sudhanshu Sharma, “One step rapid synthesis of Mesoporous high surface area Sn1-xSbxO2: Electrochemical and scanning tunneling spectroscopic studies”, J. Phys. Chem.  Solids, 123, 355-363, 2018, Scimago ranking – Q1 (IF – 4.9)

13. Aditi Singhal*, Anuj Bisth and Silvia Irusta “Enhanced oxygen evolution activity of Co3-xNixO4 compared to Co3O4 by low Ni doping”, J. of Electroanal. Chem., 823 ,482-491, 2018, Scimago ranking – Q1 (IF- 4.1)

14. Aditi Singhal* and Mary Laura Lind, “Removal of pesticide toxicity by cysteine capped Ag nanoparticles and study of their adsorption kinetics”, Int. J. of Nanomedicines, 13, 25-29, 2018, Scimago ranking – Q1 (IF – 6.5)

15. 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, Scimago ranking – Q1 (IF – 5.8)

16. 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, Scimago ranking – Q2 (IF – 2.9)

17. 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. of Electroanal. Chem., 776, 152-161, 2016, Scimago ranking – Q1 (IF – 4.1)

18. 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, Scimago ranking – Q1 (IF – 3.2)

19. 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 Scimago ranking – Q2 (IF – 3.3)

20. 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 Scimago ranking – Q1 (IF – 4.7)

21. 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, 2010 Scimago ranking – Q1 (IF – 9.5)

22. Anil Kumar and Aditi Singhal, “Synthesis of colloidal silver iron oxide nanoparticles - study of their optical and magnetic behaviour”, Nanotechnology, 20, 295606, 2009 Scimago ranking – Q2 (IF – 2.8)

23. 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 Scimago ranking – Q2 (IF – 2.8)

* Corresponding Author

• 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, Monsoon 2023, Monsoon 2024, Winter 2025
• Physical Chemistry: BTech (CHEM) Semester I/II and iMSc (Life Science) Semester II: Winter 2016, Winter 2017, Winter 2018, Winter 2020, Winter 2021, Winter 2022, Winter 2024, Monsoon 2024, Monsoon 2025, Monsoon 2026
• 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
• Organic Chemistry:  BTech (CHEM) Semester II: Winter 2024, Winter 2025, Winter 2026
• Chemistry in the World of Engineering Lab: BTech (CHEM/MECH) Semester II: Winter 2024, Winter 2025, Winter 2026

• 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)

Invited Talks

International

1.  Talk on “CO2 mitigation and its selective conversion to carbon monoxide” at 7th International Conference on Renewable Energy, Sustainable Environmental, Agricultural and Artificial Intelligence Technologies (i-reseat 2025) Maejo University, Chiang Mai, Thailand, Dec 22-23, 2025 (Keynote speaker) 

2. Talk on “Inorganic Nanomaterials and Electrochemistry” at Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah, May 21, 2025, Kuantan Pahang, Malaysia

3. Talk on “Electroreduction of CO2 using Cu based supported metal oxides” at Université du Littoral Côte d'Opale, Sep 26, 2024, Dunkerque, France

4. Talk on Talk on “Conducting metal oxides as Active Oxygen Evolution Electrocatalyst” at University of Lille, May 27, 2024, Lille, France

National

1. Talk on “Rational Design of CuZn/Co3O4 Catalysts for Efficient CO2 Reduction to Isopropanol and CO” at 5th Annual Meeting of the Society of Carbon Dioxide Research and Innovation, 25-27 May 2026, IIT Ropar

2. Talk on “CO2 mitigation and Green House CO2 Conversion to value added products” Women Force Meeting, 26-28 February 2026, IIT Gandhinagar, Gujarat, Indian.

3. Talk on “Cu supported metal oxides for electroreduction of CO2” at National Workshop On Shaping the Future with Nanotechnology: Energy Storage and CO2 Utilization, 29 March, 2025, Department of Physics & Electronics, St. Xavier's College, Ahmedabad.

4. Talk on “Basics and Fundamentals of Electrocatalysis” at Chemical Catalysis Conference 3.0, Dec 9, 2024, Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar (IITGn), Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India

5. Talk on “Rhodium Substituted Perovskite as an Active Oxygen Evolution Electrocatalyst” at CRSI-Women in Science-Lecture Series 2024” March 12, 2024, Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar (IITGn), Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India

6. Talk on “Powder X-Ray Diffraction” at workshop on Single Crystal X-Ray Crystallography (SCXRD) for women researchers, STUTI-DST program, March 21, 2023, Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar (IITGn), Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India

7. 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

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

9. 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, IIT (BHU) Varanasi, India

10. 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

11. 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

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

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

14. 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

Conference Presentations and Posters

International

1. 6th International Conference on Green Energy and Environmental Technology held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, June 2-3, 2025 (Oral Presentation)

2. 18th Edition of International Conference on Catalysis, Chemical Engineering and Technology (CCT 2024) held at Paris, France, June 17-19, 2024 (Oral Presentation)

3. 231st ECS Meeting organized by The Electrochemical Society held at New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, May 28- June 1, 2017 (Oral Presentation)

National

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

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

3. 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)

4. 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)

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

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

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

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