Nanoscopic Inorganic Structures – A New Class of Materials for Sustainability
PA R A SU R A M A N S ELVA M
National Centre for Catalysis Research & Department of Chemistry,
Indian Institute of Technology-Madras, Chennai, India
SCEAS, The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
DCPE, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, United Kingdom
selvam@iitm.ac.in

https://home.iitm.ac.in/selvam/

The discovery and development of periodic porous materials of well-defined pore geometry with precise and easily
controllable pore shape and size is of great importance in many areas of modern science and technology. In thisregard, mesoporous and hierarchical (micro-meso-macro) molecular sieves including zeolite-like metal-organic
framework structures (MOFs) are the new generation ordered porous solids, analogous to conventional
microporous (zeolitic) materials, with high surface area, large pore opening and huge pore volumes. On the one
hand, the unique flexibility of these materials, in terms of synthetic conditions, pore size tuning, high surface area,large internal hydroxyl groups, framework substitution, etc., have created new avenues not only in catalysis butalso in the areas of advanced energy materials and environmental pollution control strategies. On the other hand,the preparation and characterization of high quality materials with well-defined pore characteristics is of paramountimportance for many applications in areas including nanomaterials, catalysis, adsorption and separation. In
designing such materials, several characteristics of pore structure may be addressed, which include their shape,size, pore interconnectivity, etc. Likewise, traditional preparation methods of supported catalyst systems areneither efficient in generating/dispersing uniform sized clusters nor chemically inert towards the guest molecules.
Nevertheless, the confinement of nanoclusters/nanofilaments/enzymes in the cavities/voids/pores ofnanostructured matrices is attracting much attention as a way to stabilize highly dispersed materials in the form ofatoms, clusters, colloids or filaments, and prevent their coalescence into to larger, ill-defined aggregates. In thiscontext, self-assembly of nanoparticles into ordered pore structures, i.e., encapsulation of the nanosized materials
in zeolitic-pores, is considered as one of the promising options. Therefore, in this presentation, the recentprogress on the development of numerous nanoscale materials and their applications in catalysis will be discussed.
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Speaker Biography
Dr. Parasuraman Selvam is currently Head, National Centre for Catalysis Research, IITMadras, Chennai, and Professor in the Department of Chemistry, IIT-Madras, Chennai;
Adjunct Faculty, School of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science, The Universityof Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom, and Department of Chemical and Process
Engineering, University of Surrey, Guildford, United Kingdom.
Earlier, Prof. Selvam was a Faculty at IIT-Bombay, Mumbai and Tohoku University, Sendai,
Japan. He was also a Visiting Associate Professor, School of Chemical Engineering, The
University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, and an Eminent International Visitor, Schoolof Science and Health, Western Sydney University, Penrith, Australia. Prior to these, Prof.
Selvam was a Research Associate in the Department of Condensed Matter Physics, andLaboratory of X-ray Crystallography, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
Prof. Selvam’s research work mainly involves in the development of novel synthetic
procedures for the preparation of ordered nanoporous (zeolitic) materials such as silicas, aluminas, titanias, carbons, metallosilicates, meallo-aluminates, and a variety of other metal oxides including ceria, zirconia, etc. In addition, Prof. Selvam isalso involved in the development of highly organised and hierarchically porous materials, size- and shape-controlled
nanomaterials as well as supported metal catalyst systems.
Prof. Selvam’s research interests also include nanostructured materials, heterogeneous catalysis for green chemical routes,
environmental remediation processes, and energy conversion (biomass, solar hydrogen) and storage (methanol fuel cell,lithium-ion battery) methods. His major contribution also includes in the design and development of novel heterogeneous
catalysts for a variety of industrially important organic transformations which have received overwhelming response both fromindustry and academia. Several industrial consultancies and sponsored projects that he has brought to the Institute hashelped him to build a strong and vibrant catalysis research group at IIT-Madras.
Prof. Selvam held several visiting/adjunct faculty positions in various Universities/Institutes both in India and Abroad. He has
also been bestowed with several national and international awards and honours. Prof. Selvam has published over 275
original research papers and co-inventor of about 25 patents. Prof. Selvam held several visiting/adjunct faculty positions invarious Universities/Institutes both in India and Abroad. He has also been bestowed with several national and international
awards and honors. For details see: https://www.iitm.ac.in/info/fac/selvam