Professor

Vinod Janardhanan

CHE-107

···

Research Lab: CHE-

PhD: Ph.D, University of Karlsruhe

Research Interests: Catalysis, Fuel cells, Electrolyzers, Multiscale modeling

URFC: Unitized regenerative fuel cells can be a paradigm shift in energy conversion and storage because of their scalability and high round trip efficiency.

Research Overview

My research interests are primarily focused on electrochemical devices and heterogeneous catalysis. Specifically, our research is focused on the development and characterization of unitized regenerative fuel cells for energy conversion and storage. When it comes to heterogeneous catalysis, our research aims to develop micro-kinetic and mechanistic models for various reaction systems.

Research Highlights

HT-PEMFC

We prepare MEA’s for HT-PEMFCs. The main focus of the research is the the reduction of Pt loading in the catalyst layer by optimizing the catalyst ink composition and by trying different support materials.

HT-PEMWE

The main challenge in the anode catalyst, which undergoes corrosion at the cell potentials. We work towards circumventing this problem by using Pt-X/MWCNT and Pt/Conducting polymers.

Kinetic models

Reliable kinetic models are vital for reactor design and scale-up. We work on the development of kinetic models for various applications. The models include micro-kinetic model as well as mechanistic kinetic models.

Julia package

A free-to-use Julia package for reacting flow simulations. Rich library: thermochemistry, gas-phase and surface kinetics, transport properties. Applications: Batch, Plug, CSTR, Surface coverage, Multicomponent equilibrium etc.

Selected Publications

Predictive microkinetic modeling of acidic OER on IrO2: Mechanistic insights into surface coverage and rate control

Ashwin Mekkad, Prakyath Prakash Thalya, Shelaka Gupta, Vinod M. Janardhanan

Journal: Journal of CatalysisYear: 2026DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcat.2026.117051

Experimental evaluation of OER in phosphoric acid: Effect of temperature and concentration

Ashwin Mekkad, Prakyath Prakash Thalya, and Vinod M. Janardhanan.

Journal: Electrochimica ActaYear: 2026DOI: 10.1016/j.electacta.2026.148333

Post-crosslinking of sulfonated polybenzimidazole to develop mechanically robust PEM at elevated electrolyte loading

Suchismita Subhadarshini, Ritu Saraswat, Mokshi Sharma, Tapta Kanchan Roy, Ashwin Mekkad, Vinod M. Janardhanan, and Tushar Jana

Journal: PolymerYear: 2026DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2026.129992

Performance evaluation of high temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells: An experimental investigation

Ashwin Mekkad; Vinod M Janardhanan

Journal: Journal of Applied ElectrochemistryYear: 2024DOI: 10.1007/s10800-024-02226-5

Fuel processing systems

Ponugoti, P. V.; Janardhanan, V. M.

Journal: Modelling of Chemical Process SystemsYear: 2023DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-823869-1.00008-9

Investigating reforming kinetics of synthetic biogas mixture on Ni: Model development and experimental validation

Ponugoti, P.; Janardhanan, V. M.

Journal: Industrial & Engineering Chemistry ResearchYear: 2023DOI: 10.1021/acs.iecr.3c00975

On the stability of Ni/γ-Al2O3 catalyst and the effect of H2O and O2 during biogas reforming

Ponugoti, P. V.; Pathmanathan, P.; Rapolu, J.; Gomathi, A.; Janardhanan, V. M.

Journal: Applied Catalysis A: GeneralYear: 2023DOI: 10.1016/j.apcata.2023.119033

Performance evaluation of HCOOH micro-fluidic fuel cell using Ni wire electrode

Mohiuddin, A.; Kaur, B.; Duraiswamy, S.; Deepa, M.; Janardhanan, V. M.

Journal: Journal of Electroanalytical ChemistryYear: 2023DOI: 10.1016/j.jelechem.2023.117245

Kinetics of iron oxide reduction using CO: Experiments and modeling

Ponugoti P. V.; Garg P.; Geddam S. N.; Nag S.; Janardhanan V. M.

Journal: Chemical Engineering JournalYear: 2022DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2021.134384

Catalyst deactivation during CO2 reforming of CH4 over Ni catalyst

Pawar V.; Ponugoti P. V.; Janardhanan V. M.; Appari S.

Journal: Canadian Journal of Chemical EngineeringYear: 2022DOI: 10.1002/cjce.24266