Research

News on Science, Technology and Research in India

Large-Scale Reactor Developed for Cost-Effective Production of Hydrogen Using Sunlight and Water

The INST team has been working in this area of photocatalytic water splitting to generate hydrogen for quite some time now. “The energy crisis and ever-threatening climate crisis urged us to work on this promising way of hydrogen production through photocatalytic water splitting. The stability and chemical flexibility of having different organic groups in carbon nitrides triggered us to work on these cost-effective organic semiconductor materials for sustainable hydrogen production,” added Dr. Kamalakannan.

Electronic Polymer Based Low-Cost Sensor Developed to Detect Explosives Rapidly

Indian scientists, for the first time, have developed a thermally stable and cost-effective electronic polymer-based sensor for rapidly detecting nitro-aromatic chemicals used in high-energy explosives. The detection of explosives without destroying them is essential for protection, and criminal investigations, minefield remediation, military applications, ammunition remediation sites, security applications, and chemical sensors play a vital role in such cases.

Patent Fees For Educational Institutions Reduced by 80%

Recognizing the importance of nurturing innovation and creativity in a knowledge economy, India is taking great strides in strengthening its intellectual property ecosystem in recent years. In order to create a conducive environment for innovation, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade has been working towards promoting greater collaboration between industry and academia. This can be achieved by facilitating commercialization of research undertaken in educational institutions.

Researchers Develop Super-Hydrophobic Cotton for Oil-Spill Cleanup

The MOF composite has great capability for selective separation of the oils from oil/water mixtures, and the separation efficiency lies between 95% and 98%, irrespective of the chemical composition and density of the oils. Besides, the MOF composite is also able to absorb large volumes of oils and can be reused for a minimum of 10 times so that the sorbents can provide more recovery of the spilled oil.

Study Probes How Ejections from Sun’s Corona Influence Space Weather Predictions Crucial for Monitoring Satellites

Space weather refers to the conditions in the solar wind and near-Earth space, which can adversely affect the performance of space-borne and ground-based technological systems. The space weather near the Earth is mainly due to Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), which are frequent explosive expulsions of huge magnetized plasma from the Sun into its surroundings, which can blow past the Earth. Example of space weather events is the geomagnetic storm, a perturbation in the Earth’s magnetic field, which can last for few hours to few days. Understanding of how events in the solar atmosphere influence space weather is necessary for monitoring and maintaining our satellites.