Kamalakannan Kailasam

Biography

Educational Qualification: ♦ Ph.D. (2008): Department of Chemistry, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany ♦ M.Sc. (2002): Department of Chemistry, Bishop Heber College, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu Research Career : ♦ Associate Professor (Scientist-E); Institute of Nano Science & Technology, Mohali, India; April 2015 onwards ♦ Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Technical University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany (February 2010 – April 2015) ♦ Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Potsdam-Golm, Germany (February 2009 – January 2010). Awards & Recognitions: ♦ Max Planck Fellowship for Postdoctoral Research, Max Planck Institute for Colloids and Interfaces-Potsdam, Germany – 2009 ♦ DFG (German Research Council) Doctoral Fellowship, University of Stuttgart, 2004 ♦ IGCAR-DAE Junior Research Fellow (JRF), IGCAR-Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu - 2004 ♦ Best Outgoing Post-Graduate Student in Chemistry, Bishop Heber College, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu – 2002 ♦ Reviewer for Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) and Elsevier journals

Research Interest

Advanced Functional Nanomaterials for Energy and Environmental Applications like water splitting, CO2 conversion, gas storage, fine chemicals production, photovoltaics, fuel cells and batteries. My approach mostly depends on creating porosity in functional organic and inorganic materials by soft and hard templating approaches and their extensive characterization. In addition building the organic porous network by reacting special tectons and avoiding their packing in such a way that it opens up the porosity, for eg., in Covalent Organic Frameworks (COFs). As the further step, to fulfil like every scientists dream, of extending the research results to develop technology by prototype devices and towards industrial applications: ♦ Conversion of water resources to fuels by solar energy: Porous heptazine and triazine based polymeric carbon nitride and mesoporous WO3 and BiVO4 semiconductors for photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical visible light water splitting and organic conversions. ♦ Storage of H2, CO2 and CH4; capturing and conversion of green house gases (GHGs) like CO2: Covalent Organic Frameworks (CTFs, Covalent Triazine Frameworks), Mesoporous melamine resins and Polymeric carbon nitrides ♦ Conversion of Biomass and CH4 to value-added fuels: Porous mixed metal oxide and metal nanoparticle supported SBA-15, MCM-41 and mesoporous zeolites. Hydrothermal Carbonization (HTC) of the biomass into functionalised carbon materials. ♦ Electrochemical applications: Porous hetero atom doped carbons from renewables, graphene/CNT carbon nitride composites, CTFs, mesoporous metal oxides for Fuel cells, Batteries and Supercapacitors ♦ Chromatographic applications: Various morphological forms, like M-MCM-41 (e.g., M = Ti) silica spheres grafted with functional chains for on-column catalysis and separation using HPLC/GC techniques ♦ Environmental Remediation-water purification: Carbon nitride polymers – removal of toxic/heavy elements from polluted water, photocatalytic adsorption/degradation of dyes and other organic pollutants from industrial wastes ♦ Biotechnology applications: Porous carbon nitrides as Fluorescence nanoprobe in biosensing and bioimaging applications. Multi-functionalized ordered porous spherical silicas as drug-delivery systems.