Layered Materials: Synthesis and Applications in Energy and Environmental Remediation

Layered materials have attracted much attention in this decade because of their high active surface area and the ability to tune the properties through the formation of layered structures for various applications. This compliments the layered materials with high mechanical flexibility, chemical stability, and superior electrical and thermal conductivities, which make them a great alternative for electrochemical applications such as electrochemical energy conversion, storage devices, and environmental remediation.

This book offers the state of the art of research on the synthesis, properties, characterization, and electrochemical applications of layered materials and highlights the present challenges related to environmental issues. It provides fundamental, experimental, and theoretical knowledge about layered materials, including graphene, graphitic carbon nitride, boron nitride, and MoS2-, Li-, and Mn-rich oxide materials and MXenes, and elaborates their synthesis, physicochemical properties, and structure-property-electrochemical performance. The book also covers the recent progress in developing layered material-based electrochemical energy conversion systems and storage devices and identifies immediate research needs and directions in developing layered material-based systems for future applications.

A. Pandikumar is a senior scientist at the Electro Organic and Materials Electrochemistry Division of the CSIR-Central Electrochemical Research Institute, Tamil Nadu, India. He obtained his PhD in chemistry (2014) from Madurai Kamaraj University, Tamil Nadu, India, and completed his postdoctoral fellowship (2014–2016) from the University of Malaya, Malaysia, under its High Impact Research Grant. He then joined the Functional Materials Division of the CSIR-Central Electrochemical Research Institute as a scientist. Dr Pandikumar’s current research involves the development of novel functional materials for photocatalysis, photoelectrocatalysis, dye-sensitized solar cells, perovsikte solar cells, water splitting, and electrochemical sensor applications.

K. Jothivenkatachalam is a professor and head of the Department of Chemistry, Anna University BIT Campus, Tamil Nadu, India. He obtained his PhD in chemistry from the University of Madras, Tamil Nadu, India. His current research focuses on photocatalysis for energy and environmental applications, and his other research interests are functional materials, photocatalysis, photoelectrochemistry, photoelectrocatalysis, and dye-sensitized solar cells.

S. Moscow is an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry, University College of Engineering BIT Campus, Tamil Nadu, India. He has been a lecturer at AVVM Sri Pushpam College and an assistant professor at SASTRA Deemed University, Tamil Nadu, India. He has authored or co-authored book chapters and papers in publications of international repute. Dr Moscow’s areas of research are photochemistry, geochemistry, environmental sciences, and materials chemistry.