Tailoring ZnO–CdO Nanocomposite Photoanodes Mimicking Neural Web Like Structure for Optimized Solar Water Splitting Akanksha S. Chougale, Snehal S. Wagh, Ashish D. Waghmare, Sandesh R. Jadkar, Dnyaneshwar R. Shinde, Shoyebmohamad F. Shaikh, Ravindra N. Bulakhe, Ji Man Kim, Shashikant P. Patole, Habib M. Pathan Advanced Energy and Sustainability Research, 2025 The efficient photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting requires semiconductor photocatalyst with high light absorption, favorable band position, minimum electron‐hole recombination, and high stability. Zinc oxide–cadmium oxide (ZnO–CdO) nanocomposites are among those candidates for PEC water splitting, offering the potential to harness solar energy for sustainable hydrogen generation. Here, this study first time reports the use of ZnO–CdO nanocomposites prepared using simple, robust, and affordable successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction method for PEC water splitting. The X‐ray diffraction reveals the coexistence of ZnO and CdO crystallites with an average size of ≈10 nm, microstrain ≈14.4 × 10−3, and dislocation density ≈15.0 × 1015 m−2. The optical studies show increased absorption for the nanocomposite as compared to bare ZnO sample. The morphological studies reveal that the neural web‐like structure with increased surface area effectively improves light harvesting through developing a light trap and significantly accelerates carrier kinetics processes because of its larger interface contacting zones with the electrolyte, which further provides direct paths for rapid carrier separation and transfer. The PEC studies shown a faster photo response and lower charge transfer impedance which resulted in better photoconversion efficiency and optimum photocurrent density of 0.52 mA cm−2, a 10‐fold that of bare ZnO and four‐fold of bare CdO.
Synthesis and Characterization of Nanostructured Co3O4/Polyaniline Fiber Composite for Room Temperature Ammonia Sensing Using Dip Coating-SILAR Hybrid Approach Abhijeet Khandagale, Dnyaneshwar Shinde, Kisan Gadave, Nagesh Bhandari, Aparna Sajjan, Vasant Chabukswar, Manohar Chaskar Polymer Plastics Technology and Materials, 2025 In the present study, Co3O4 + polyaniline composite thin film sensors with 4-cycle, 8-cycle, and 12-cycle Co3O4 prepared using a dip-coating SILAR hybrid route. Formation and structural study of Co3O4 + polyaniline composite inferred using FTIR. It revealed polyaniline-specific IR absorption bands and the emergence of new bands suggestive of Co3O4 particles. XRD analysis revealed the crystallite size between 15 and 30 nm. In the morphology study, SEM and TEM analysis showed a fibrous structure of polyaniline with 40 to 50 nm width and 300 to 500 nm length. EDS (electron dispersive spectroscopy) showed the presence of N and C in polyaniline and additional Co and O elements in the Co3O4 + polyaniline composite, further supported by an elemental mapping study. The gas sensing study was conducted for NH3, C2H5OH, Formaldehyde, Hydrogen Sulphide, and LPG gases. Optimized 12-cycle Co3O4 + polyaniline gas sensor showed excellent selectivity for ammonia as compared to intervening gases, with a detection limit of 0.25 ppm (250 ppb) and 126.61% and 662.30% response at 40 and 300 ppm with 126 sec and 139 sec response time, respectively.
Photocatalytic and antioxidant activity of ZnO/Cu/Ag/CNT nanocomposite Akanksha S. Chougale, Snehal S. Wagh, Harshad D. Shelke, Shoyebmohamad F. Shaikh, Ravindra D. Bulakhe, Ji M. Kim, Shashikant P. Patole, Dnyaneshwar R. Shinde Journal of Materials Science Materials in Electronics, 2024