Boosting Ion Transport Kinetics in Sulfolane-Modified Aqueous Electrolytes for High-Performance Zinc-Ion Batteries with V₂C MXene Cathodes Jenitha Moses, Naveen T Bharanitharan, Tharani Selvam, Durgalakshmi Dhinasekaran, Ashwin Kishore Munusamy Rajendran, et al. Small Methods, 2025 The advancement of zinc‐ion batteries (ZIBs) is propelled by their inherent safety, cost‐effectiveness, and environmental sustainability. This study investigates the role of sulfolane (SL), a polar aprotic solvent with a high dielectric constant, as an electrolyte additive to enhance ion transport and electrochemical performance in V₂C MXene cathodes for high‐performance ZIBs. The addition of 1% SL optimizes Zn‐ion transport by increasing ionic conductivity, suppressing electrolyte decomposition, and mitigating zinc dendrite formation. Galvanostatic Intermittent Titration Technique (GITT) analysis reveals a reduction in Zn2⁺ diffusion coefficient from 1.54 × 10⁻⁷ cm2/s in 2 m ZnSO₄ to 1.07 × 10⁻⁹ cm2 s−1 in the SL‐modified system, indicating a more confined Zn2⁺ transport environment. Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) further demonstrates a substantial decrease in activation energy from 123.78 to 65.08 kJ mol⁻¹, signifying improved charge transfer kinetics. Ex situ XRD confirms that SL stabilizes the phase transformation of V₂C to Zn₀.₂₉V₂O₅, enhancing structural integrity. The modified system achieves an impressive specific capacity of 545 mAh g⁻¹ at 0.5 A g⁻¹ and exhibits exceptional cycling stability, retaining 91% capacity over 7000 cycles at 20 A g⁻¹. These findings underscore the potential of sulfolane as a key additive for advancing V₂C MXene‐based ZIBs.
Electrochemical Non-Enzymatic Biosensing of Cortisol Using ZnO-Graphene Nanocomposite Harini Loganathan, Durgalakshmi Dhinasekaran, Ajay Rakkesh Rajendran Journal of the Electrochemical Society, 2025 Cortisol is a key factor in developmental and behavioural research, measured widely in blood, urine, and saliva. Electrochemical sensing has emerged as a reliable technique in the development of point-of-care devices for detecting cortisol. Here, a ZnO/Graphene coated graphite was used as a sensing electrode for the detection of cortisol. The performance of the sensing electrode was tested in the presence of cortisol using electrochemical techniques and the impact of scan rate, concentration, cycle numbers, linear range, and limit of detection is reported. The fabricated ZnO/Graphene/PGE sensing electrode demonstrated excellent performance for cortisol detection, exhibiting a linear response over a wide concentration range of 10.874 to 173.981 mg ml−1 and a low limit of detection of 6.162 μg ml−1. Additionally, the sensor displayed high stability over 60 days, with good repeatability and reproducibility. This shows that the ZnO/Graphene nanocomposite can be used as a non-enzymatic sensor providing a more reliable and effective cortisol sensing.
Titanium Mxene: A Promising Material for Next-Generation Optical Biosensors and Machine Learning Integration Athulya Aravind, Durgalakshmi Dhinasekaran, Ajay Rakkesh Rajendran Analysis and Sensing, 2025 Nano biosensors based on MXenes have been emerging as a promising tool in the detection of biomarkers, for the discrimination of diseases and in the detection of environmental pollutants. Their potential in sensing applications has also drawn a lot of attention to their unique qualities such as their high conductivity, huge surface area, outstanding hydrophilicity, biocompatibility, and simplicity of surface functionalization. The development of scalable synthesis techniques is essential to the large‐scale manufacturing and broad application of MXene‐based sensors. Furthermore, the stability of the MXene layers in diverse environmental circumstances continues to be a difficulty for their practical application. To increase the dependability and precision of MXene‐based sensors, their selectivity must be increased through functionalization and tuning. With innovative technologies like machine learning, MXene biosensor is now taken advantage of new opportunities. Personalized healthcare solutions, remote data analysis, and real‐time monitoring are all possible when MXene sensors and AI algorithms work together. Herein, the optical properties, synthesis approaches, role of MXene biosensors in machine learning, its significant challenges and future prospects of MXene‐based nano(bio)sensors are deliberated.
Electrophoretic deposition of bioglass/TiO2 nanocomposite on CP-Ti substrates for biomedical applications International Journal of Chemtech Research, 2015
