@article {45512,
	title = {Studies on nano composites of SPEEK/ethylene glycol/cellulose nanocrystals as promising proton exchange membranes},
	journal = {Electrochimica Acta},
	volume = {293},
	year = {2019},
	month = {JAN },
	pages = {260-272},
	type = {Article},
	abstract = {<p>The present work deals with fabrication and characterisations of nano-composite membranes composed of sulfonated poly (ether ether ketone) (SPEEK) cross-linked and reinforced with ethylene glycol (EG) and cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) respectively. The thin films of cross-linked composite membranes were prepared by solvent casting method and further analysed for physicochemical and electrochemical properties to execute their applicability as promising proton exchange membrane (PEM) in fuel cells. The process of cross-linking helps to improve the strength and dimensional stability of bare SPEEK membranes without compromising with conductivity. However, presence of CNCs further improves the strength and provides an effective pathway for the conduction of protons in membranes by interacting through their surface hydroxyl and sulfonic acid groups with ionic moieties of polymer matrix. All prepared composite membranes showed good oxidative and thermal stability along with good proton conductivity. The cross-linked SPEEK membranes with 4 wt\% loading of CNCs possess an appreciable proton conductivity of 0.186 S/cm at 95 degrees C and 95\% RH which is comparable to Nafion 117. From the view point of above studies, the prepared nano-composite can be described as promising proton exchange membrane for fuel cells. (c) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.</p>},
	keywords = {Cellulose nanocrystals, Cross-linked SPEEK, fuel cell, oxidative stability, proton conductivity},
	issn = {0013-4686},
	doi = {10.1016/j.electacta.2018.10.029},
	author = {Bano, Saleheen and Negi, Yuvraj S. and Illathvalappil, Rajith and Kurungot, Sreekumar and Ramya, K.}
}
@article {48151,
	title = {Tailored synthesis of ultra-stable Au@Pd nanoflowers with enhanced catalytic properties using cellulose nanocrystals},
	journal = {Carbohydrate Polymers},
	volume = {292},
	year = {2022},
	month = {SEP},
	pages = {119723},
	type = {Article},
	abstract = {<p>
	A green strategy for the synthesis of bimetallic core-shell Au@Pd nanoflowers (NFs) employing banana pseudostem-derived TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanocrystals (TCNC) as both capping and shape-directing agent via seed-mediated method is presented. Flower-like nanostructures of Au@Pd bound to TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanocrystals (TCNC-Au@Pd) were decorated on amino-functionalized graphene (NH2-RGO) without losing their unique structure, allowing them to be deployed as an efficient, reusable and a green alternative heterogeneous catalyst. The decisive role of TCNC in the structural metamorphosis of nanoparticle morphology were inferred from the structural and morphology analyses. According to our study, the presence of -OH rich TCNC appears to play a pivotal role in the structured evolution of intricate nanostructure morphology. The feasibility of the bio-supported catalyst has been investigated in two concurrently prevalent model catalytic reactions, namely the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and the reduction of 4-nitrophenol, the best model reactions in fuel cell and industrial catalytic applications, respectively.</p>
},
	keywords = {Au@Pd, catalysis, Cellulose nanocrystals, Nanoflowers, oxygen reduction reaction},
	issn = {0144-8617},
	doi = {10.1016/j.carbpol.2022.119723},
	author = {Hakkeem, Hasna M. Abdul and Babu, Aswathy and Shilpa, Nagaraju and Venugopal, Adithya A. and Mohamed, A. P. and Kurungot, Sreekumar and Pillai, Saju}
}
