IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON NANOTECHNOLOGY, VOL. 13, NO.
2, MARCH 2014
Water Soluble Polymer-SWCNT-Based Composite
for Hydrogen Storage
D. Silambarasan, V. Vasu, and K. Iyakutti
Abstract—In this study, water soluble polymers such as poly
vinyl alcohol (PVA) and poly vinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) were chosen
as the base material for hydrogen storage with the aim of produc-
ing recyclable and water-soluble polymer-based hydrogen storage
material. Initially, the polymers were acid treated using concen-
trated hydrochloric acid (conc. HCl) to incorporate Cl ions into
the polymeric matrices. Furthermore, single-walled carbon nan-
otubes (SWCNTs) were added to those acid-treated polymers by
means of ultrasonication in an aqueous medium as the compos-
ite material to increase the hydrogen adsorption. The homogenous
composite solution resulted from ultrasonication was then made in
the form of film by using the general spin-coating technique. Then,
the composite films were hydrogenated in Seiverts’ like hydrogena-
tion setup. The preliminary results on hydrogen storage capability
of the polymer-SWCNTs composite materials and desorption tem-
perature range of hydrogen are reported. The prepared composite
films exhibit good water-soluble properties and recyclability, i.e.,
they can be formed and dissolved in water. Hydrogen storage in
these acid-treated polymer-SWCNTs composite is reported here
for the first time. The presence of Cl ions and the adsorption sites
offered by SWCNTs were responsible for hydrogen binding in the
composite films. The nature of binding of hydrogen in the compos-
ite films was found to be weak chemisorption.
Index Terms—Carbon nanotubes, hydrogen storage, polymer
films.
I. INTRODUCTION
ECAUSE of the diminishing availability of the fossil fuel
B and increasing global warming, there is a compulsion to
seek for an alternate green (revolutionary) fuel, which can re-
place the traditional fossil fuel in near future. Hydrogen would
be a worthy perfect candidate because of its abundance and
pollutant-free advantages [1], [2]. Researchers are facing ob-
stacles on its storage for onboard applications [3], [4]. Classi-
cal methods of storage in the form of gas and liquid involve
high unsafe pressure and large amount of energy. Storage of
Manuscript received July 4, 2013; accepted January 6, 2014. Date of publi-
cation January 9, 2014; date of current version March 6, 2014. This work was
supported by Madurai Kamaraj University (MKU), University Grants Com-
mission (UGC), Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), and Sri
Ramaswamy Memorial (SRM) University. The review of this paper was ar-
ranged by Associate Editor G. Ramanath.
D. Silambarasan and V. Vasu are with the School of Physics, Madurai Ka-
maraj University, Madurai-625021, Tamil Nadu, India (e-mail: simbuphysics@
yahoo.com; vvasumku@gmail.com).
K. Iyakutti is with the Department of Physics and Nanotechnol-
ogy, SRM University, Kattankulathur-603203, Tamil Nadu, India (e-mail:
iyakutti@yahoo.co.in).
Color versions of one or more of the figures in this paper are available online
at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TNANO.2014.2299287
1536-125X © 2014 IEEE. Personal use is permitted, but republication/redistribution requires IEEE permission.
See http://www.ieee.org/publications standards/publications/rights/index.html for more information.
261
hydrogen in its solid state form on nanostructure materials
[5]–[7], zeolites [8] and metal organic frameworks [9] are being
investigated extensively. The storage of hydrogen in these mate-
rials comprises the processes namely physisorption that involves
the weak interaction of hydrogen with the host in binding energy
range of 0.01–0.1 eV and chemisorption that involves strong
chemical bonding of hydrogen to the host material with the
binding energy range of ∼2–3 eV. Generally, physisorption of
hydrogen is stable at lower temperatures only and chemisorption
of hydrogen requires higher temperature to release. Hence, the
storage of hydrogen in the host material with the binding energy
in between these two limits is necessary for onboard applica-
tions. Hydrogen storage in polymers is emerging as a hot topic in
recent years, because of being lightweight, porous nature, and
possible large scale production technology [10]. In addition,
generally polymer contains a high concentration of hydrogen
covalently bound to the polymer structure; hence, it is conceiv-
able that hydrogen could interact on a molecular level [11]. A
triptycene-based polymer showed a reversible hydrogen storage
capacity of 1.65 wt.% at 1 bar, 77 K and 2.71 wt.% at 10 bar,
77 K [12]. Lee et al. [13] showed that the hyper cross-linked
polystyrene can reversibly adsorb upto 3.04 wt.% H2 at 77 K
and 15 bar. A hydrogen storage capacity of 7 wt.% was obtained
at 77.3 K and 48 bar using a new kind of organic material based
on the diamond like structure [14]. Budd et al. [15] reported
that the polymer of intrinsic microscopy incorporated with trip-
tycene subunit is taking up 2.7% H2 by mass at 77 K and 10 bar.
Doping of Li+ ions to the conjugated micro-porous polymers
leads to the highest storage capacity of 6.1 wt.% at 77.3 K and
1 bar [16]. A poly–ether–ether–ketone (PEEK) base polymeric
matrix functionalized in situ by manganese oxide formation,
exhibited 1.2 wt.% hydrogen adsorption capabilities at 77 K.
Interestingly, at 60 bar this material showed a hydrogen sorp-
tion capacity of 0.24 wt.% at just above room temperature, 50
◦
C and 0.06 wt.% at around room temperature, 32 ◦ C [17]. First-
principles electronic structure calculations for hydrogen binding
to trans-polyacetylene decorated by Ti and Sc atoms exhibited
the storage capacities of 12 and 14 wt.%, respectively [18].
Hydrogen storage in polyaniline (PANI)-based nanocomposites
such as PANI-SnO2 , PANI-MWCNTs, and PANI-Al were also
investigated and found that the incorporation of CNTs into poly-
mer can also improve the performance of hydrogen storage via
offering more adsorption sites [19]. Cho et al. [20] proposed
the concentrated (conc. ) HCl acid-treated PANI and polypir-
role (Ppy) as hydrogen storage materials, and they measured
the storage capacities of 6 and 8 wt.%, respectively, at 90 atm
and 298 K. These reports reveal that the polymer-based mate-
rial having the ability to store the hydrogen. On the other hand,
262
CNTs are also extensively investigated material for hydrogen
storage and it has been explored that they can serve as a hy-
drogen storage medium [21]–[28]. It is interesting to know the
effect of combination of polymers with CNTs toward hydrogen
storage.
Hence, the aim of this paper is to study the hydrogenation
properties of polymers-CNT composite. The presence (combi-
nation) of CNTs along with polymer offers an interesting ap-
proach not only to reinforce polymer films but also to influence
their physical properties based on the morphological modifica-
tion or the interaction between the two components [29]. The
water-soluble polymers such as poly vinyl alcohol (PVA) and
poly vinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) were chosen as the base mate-
rial for hydrogen storage. The polymers PVA and PVP were
widely investigated as gas sensor materials [30], [31]. These
polymers were acid treated with conc. HCl to incorporate Cl
ions into the polymer matrix, and single-walled carbon nan-
otubes (SWCNTs) were further added to the acid-treated poly-
mers. The Cl ions could reduce the agglomeration of polymers
and CNTs could provide additional adsorption sites. From the
viewpoint of environmental protection and saving resources, re-
cycling the Polymer-CNT composite films is the efficient way
to overcome these problems. Hence, we have used the benign
water-soluble polymers PVA and PVP, to disperse CNTs. A
general spin-coating technique is used to prepare the homoge-
neous composite films. The prepared composite films exhibit
good water-soluble properties and recyclability, i.e., they can be
formed and dissolved in water. Most of the authors [12]–[16]
have conducted the hydrogenation experiments at very low tem-
peratures and under some pressure conditions only. Here, the hy-
drogenation experiments were conducted just above the room
temperature, i.e, at 50◦ C, as it is the authors’ opinion that it is
simply not feasible for use in automotive applications to store
hydrogen at such lower temperatures and under such pressure
conditions [12]–[16]. Then, the composite films were kept in
Seiverts’ like hydrogenation setup [32] and hydrogenated. The
hydrogen storage capacities and desorption temperature of hy-
drogen were measured.
II. EXPERIMENTAL DETAILS
A. Materials
SWCNTs with the purity of >98%, Poly vinyl alcohol and
Poly vinyl pyrrolidone were purchased from Sigma Aldrich.
The other reagents and chemicals used for experiments were
purchased from Merck with 99% purity. Glass substrates of
dimension 25 × 25 × 1.35 mm were cleaned with chromic acid,
acetone, and distilled water by means of sonication for 30 min.
B. Acid Treatment of Polymers
The polymers weighing 500 mg was stirred in 15 ml of con-
centrated hydrochloric acid (HCl) at room temperature for 24 h.
The acid-treated polymers containing solution was then filtered,
washed with deionized water thoroughly, and dried in an oven
at 100 ◦ C for a day in order to eliminate the adsorbed water.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON NANOTECHNOLOGY, VOL. 13, NO. 2, MARCH 2014
Fig. 1. Schematic representation of the reversible water-soluble property of
the composite films.
C. Purification and Preparation of SWCNTs
The expected amorphous carbon present in the purchased
SWCNTs was removed by heating them in a tubular furnace
at 300 ◦ C for 1 h. After the heat treatment, the SWCNTs were
mixed with the solution containing the mixture of nitric acid
and sulphuric acid. Furthermore, the solution was ultrasonicated
for 6 h and the solution containing dispersed CNTs was left
overnight. Finally, removing the precipitate of impurities, the
upper suspended CNTs solution was collected. The solution
was filtered and washed several times using deionized water till
the pH of the solution reached around 6. In this way, pure and
water dispersible SWCNTs were obtained.
D. Dispersion of SWCNTs in Polymers
Typically, 100 mg of acid-treated polymer was dissolved in
5 ml of distilled water maintained at 90 ◦ C to form a homogenous
solution. 20 mg of purified SWCNTs were gradually dispersed
in the polymer solution with the assistance of ultrasonication
for 6 h.
E. Preparation of the Polymer-SWCNTs Composite Film
The homogenous SWCNTs dispersed polymer solution was
spin-coated onto glass substrate at 1500 r/min for 30 s. Solid
Polymer-SWCNTs composite films were obtained after evapo-
ration of water by heating the precursor films on a hot plate at
100 ◦ C for 1 h. In this way, the SWCNTs dispersed polymer
composite films were prepared. The thicknesses of the films
were found to be ∼0.5 mm.
F. Recycling Performance of Composite Films
To check the recycling performance of the composite films,
we have peeled off the films from the substrate, dissolved in wa-
ter with the help of ultrasonication, and spin-coated the solution
back onto the substrate to form the composite films again. The
results show that the prepared composite films are reversibly sol-
uble in water. The whole process is represented in the schematic
diagram shown in Fig. 1. The entire process between solution
and film are easily realized through only ultrasonication in water
and spin-coating onto the substrate. The reobtained solution and
composite films are almost the same as the fresh precursor solu-
tion and the first polymer-CNT composite film. This whole pro-
cess suggests that the composite films have good water-soluble
properties and can be recycled. Generally, the preparation of
CNT composite films use high-temperature procedures, organic
SILAMBARASAN et al.: WATER SOLUBLE POLYMER-SWCNT-BASED COMPOSITE FOR HYDROGEN STORAGE 263

TABLE I
HYDROGEN STORAGE CAPACITY OF ALL SAMPLES

Fig. 2. TEM image of SWCNTs.

solvents, etc., whereas the process we have used in this study

requires only benign water as the dispersing medium, and a
general low-cost spin coating approach at room temperature.

G. Hydrogenation
The composite film samples were loaded in Seiverts’ like
hydrogenation setup and hydrogenated as detailed next. The
sample was maintained at 50 ◦ C for 100 min and the hydrogen
is allowed to flow for 20 min, and then the sample was left in the
chamber to attain the room temperature. After hydrogenation, Fig. 3. XRD pattern of (a) PVA and (b) PVP.
the hydrogen content present in the sample was estimated. The
hydrogen storage capacities of the samples are presented in
Table I.

H. Characterization
The morphology of SWCNTs was analyzed by transmission
electron microscopy (TEM) using JEOL JEM 2100 model unit
with an accelerating voltage of 200 kV. Powder X-ray diffraction
(XRD) study was performed on XPERT-PRO diffractometer op-
erating at 40 kV and 30 mA, using Cu Kα radiation. Scanning
electron microscopy (SEM) images were recorded using JEOL- Fig. 4. SEM images of (a) PVA-SWCNTs and (b) PVP-SWCNTs composite
MODEL 6390 unit. IR spectra were recorded using FTIR-8400, films.
CE, Shimadzu model spectrometer at room temperature in the
range of 4500–400 cm−1 with a resolution of 1 cm−1 . CHN- the quality of polymers without any elemental impurities. Fig. 4
elemental analysis was done using Elementar Vario EL III model shows the SEM images of PVA-SWCNTs and PVP-SWCNTs
analyzer. The thermo gravimetric (TG) measurements were car- composite films. The marking indicates the presence of CNTs in
ried out using Perkin Elmer-Diamond model unit over the tem- the composite film. The thicknesses of the composite films were
perature range of 30–400 ◦ C at a scanning rate of 10 ◦ C/min. measured by profilometer and are found to be around 0.5 mm.

III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

A. Morphology and Structural Analyses
The TEM image of purified and acid-treated SWCNTs is
presented in Fig. 2. The image reveals the existence of good
distribution and separation of high-quality SWCNTs with the
estimated average diameter of 2–4 nm. Fig. 3(a) shows the
XRD pattern of PVA. The strong crystalline reflections at 2θ
= 19.8◦ and 20.2◦ are the characteristic peaks of PVA. The
reflections at higher angles confirm the semicrystalline nature
of the polymer [33]. The XRD pattern of PVP presented in
Fig. 3(b) shows the strong characteristic peak of PVP around 2θ
= 24.4◦ [34]. The absence of any other peaks is the evidence of
B. Functional Group Analysis
The functional groups present in composite films PVA-
SWCNTs and PVP-SWCNTs were analyzed by IR analysis
and are presented in Figs. 5 and 6, respectively. The functional
groups of SWCNTs are marked by red color arrows. In both the
spectrum, the vibration band appeared around 1600 cm−1 indi-
cates the C = C stretching vibration of carbon atoms in CNTs.
The vibrations bands around 1000 cm−1 appeared due to the C-C
stretching vibrations of carbon atoms in CNTs. The absorption
band intensity of CNTs seems to be less dominant because of
the presence of only lesser amount of CNTs in the composite
film. The functional groups of PVA are indicated by black color
264
Fig. 5. IR Spectrum of the PVA-SWCNTs composite film.
Fig. 6. IR Spectrum of the PVP-SWCNTs composite film.
arrows. A broad O-H stretching band for hydrogen-bonded al-
cohol is appearing in between 3400 and 3500 cm−1 . The band
at 2800 cm−1 indicates the presence of −CH2 − symmetric
vibration. The C−H alkyl bending band around 1460 cm−1 is
assigned for −CH2 and −CH3 bonds. The absorption peaks in
the range 1000–1100 cm−1 is assigned to the stretching vibra-
tions of −C−O and C−O−C groups in PVA. The absorption
peak around 900 cm−1 represent C−C stretching vibrations of
PVA [35], [36].
The functional groups of PVP are indicated by black color
arrows. The band around 2900 cm−1 indicates the presence
of C−H asymmetric stretching. The vibration band appeared
at 1790 cm−1 is due to C=O stretching and the band around
1560 cm−1 refers to CH3 scissoring vibration. The absorption
peaks at 1490 cm−1 and 1390 cm−1 are due to C−C ring stretch-
ing and C−N stretching vibrations [37]. In both the spectrum,
the absorption peak in the range of 750–550 cm−1 is correspond-
ing to C−Cl stretching peak [18]. This confirms the presence of
chloride ions in the polymeric matrices.
C. Hydrogen Uptake Analysis
To quantify the amount of hydrogen stored in the samples,
the CHN-elemental analysis was carried out. This is one of the
widely used standard techniques for the measurement of hydro-
gen storage capacity and the composition of elements such as
carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen [7], [32], [38]–[40]. The storage
capacities are calculated as the difference of hydrogen content
present in the samples before and after hydrogenation experi-
ment. Before knowing the hydrogen storage capability of com-
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON NANOTECHNOLOGY, VOL. 13, NO. 2, MARCH 2014
Fig. 7. Thermogravimetric spectrum of hydrogenated acid-treated PVA. Inset
shows the thermogravimetric spectrum of PVA.
Fig. 8. Thermogravimetric spectrum of a hydrogenated PVA-SWCNTs com-
posite film.
posite materials, the hydrogen storage capability of individual
components was tested and the results are presented in Table I.
As expected, no hydrogen was stored in the polymers with-
out acid treatment. This is because,the molecular chains in most
of the organic polymers are so flexible that they can form a
tightly packed structure which means, there are no cavities
inside, and thus there is no appreciable internal surface onto
which substances could be adsorbed under these experimental
conditions [17]. But, the acid-treated polymers show notable
hydrogen storage capacity. The reason is that, acid treatment of
polymers induced the formation of micropore, which is desir-
able for hydrogen storage [17]. The incorporation of Cl ions is
more in PVP than PVA, as evidenced from IR spectra and hence
the hydrogen storage capacity of acid treated PVP is more than
acid treated PVA.
D. Desorption Analysis
The TG measurements exhibit the desorption profile of stored
hydrogen. Fig. 7 shows the TG spectrum of hydrogenated acid-
treated PVA sample. It shows a weight loss of about 0.9% in the
temperature range of 160–190 ◦ C that corresponds to desorp-
tion of stored hydrogen. Inset shows the TG spectrum of PVA.
This clearly shows that, the PVA start to disintegrate around
230 ◦ C. Furthermore, we have used van’t Hoff equation [19]
to calculate the binding energy of hydrogen with acid-treated
PVA for the desorption temperatures 160, 190 ◦ C and the val-
ues are 0.34, 0.36 eV, respectively. The TG spectrum of hy-
drogenated PVA-SWCNTs composite film is shown in Fig. 8.
SILAMBARASAN et al.: WATER SOLUBLE POLYMER-SWCNT-BASED COMPOSITE FOR HYDROGEN STORAGE
Fig. 9. Thermogravimetric spectrum of hydrogenated Acid-treated PVP. Inset
shows thermogravimetric spectrum of PVP.
Fig. 10. Thermogravimetric spectrum of hydrogenated PVP-SWCNTs com-
posite film.
The initial weight loss in the temperature range 175–195 ◦ C
represents desorption of stored hydrogen. The binding energy
of hydrogen corresponding to that temperature range is 0.35–
0.365 eV. In both the Figs. 7 and 8, the second weight loss
around 230 ◦ C represents the disintegration of PVA.
Fig. 9 shows the TG spectrum of hydrogenated acid-treated
PVP sample. In this case, there is a weight loss of 1.3% in the
temperature range of 120–145 ◦ C corresponding to the desorp-
tion of hydrogen. Inset shows the TG spectrum of PVP. This
shows that, the PVP start to disintegrate around 160 ◦ C. The
binding energy values of hydrogen with acid treated PVP are
0.31 and 0.33 eV, respectively. The TG spectrum of hydro-
genated PVP-SWCNTs composite film is presented in Fig. 10.
The initial weight loss in the temperature range 120–145 ◦ C rep-
resents desorption of stored hydrogen. The binding energy of
hydrogen corresponding to that temperature range is calculated
to be 0.31–0.33 eV. In both the Figs. 9 and 10, the second weight
loss around 160 ◦ C represents the disintegration of PVP. The hy-
drogen storage capacity measured by CHN-elemental analysis
and the weight loss of the corresponding sample measured by
TG analysis is same. Hence, one can conclude that the TG results
together with CHN-elemental analysis provide evidence for the
measurement of hydrogen storage capacities in the samples.
From the TG results, it is noted that the quantity of hydrogen
desorbed is equal to the quantity of hydrogen adsorbed. Thus, the
Polymer-SWCNTs composite system exhibits 100% reversibil-
ity. Lochan and Head-Gordan [41] pointed out that, an ideal
hydrogen storage medium should exhibit the binding energy of
hydrogen in the range 0.2–0.4 eV. This range belongs to weak
265
chemisorption. The calculated binding energy of hydrogen with
Polymer-SWCNTs composite system lies in the recommended
range. Thus, the attached hydrogen has weak chemical bonding
in the composite film network and notably the hydrogenated
systems maintain their stability at room temperature. This in
turn indicates the existence of hydrogen binding with different
bond strengths due to the different diameters of SWCNTs [42]
and the presence of Cl ions in the composite network.
Though, the storage capacity reported here are below to the
US DOE target there is a lot of scope to realize polymer-based
hydrogen storage medium such as by using conducting poly-
mers incorporated with metal ions/atoms (Li, Ti etc.) and other
materials such as metal hydrides, metal oxides, etc. The elec-
tronic structures of the conducting polymers are believed to
play a significant role in hydrogen storage. Metal ions/atoms
can prevent the agglomeration of polymer into a solid cluster.
Other parameters such as surface morphologies/modifications
and their correlation with hydrogen adsorption and desorption
behavior are to be investigated.
IV. CONCLUSION
In summary, the water-soluble polymers (PVA and PVP)-
based hydrogen storage medium has been designed, and its hy-
drogen storage capabilities were evaluated. Hydrogen storage in
these acid-treated polymer-SWCNTs composite is reported here
for the first time. Initially, the polymers were acid treated and
SWCNTs were added as the composite constituent by means of
ultrasonication in an aqueous medium. The composite solutions
were made as films by the simple spin-coating technique. Then,
the acid-treated polymer films and the composite films were
hydrogenated at 50 ◦ C. The presence of Cl ions in the poly-
mer matrices lead to a storage capacity of 0.9 and 1.3 wt.% for
the acid-treated PVA and PVP, respectively. On the other hand,
the composite films such as PVA-SWCNTs and PVP-SWCNTs
shows a storage capacity of 1.2 and 1.5 wt.%, respectively. The
inclusion of SWCNTs has notable effect on the hydrogen stor-
age capabilities of the material. The additional adsorption sites
offered by SWCNTs are responsible for the increase in hydro-
gen storage capacity of the composite films. The desorption
temperature ranges of the hydrogenated composite films PVA-
SWCNTs and PVP-SWCNTs are found to be 175–195 ◦ C and
120–145 ◦ C, respectively. The nature of hydrogen binding is
found to be weak chemisorption in both the composite films,
and the binding energies fall in the recommended range. The
composite films exhibit good water-soluble properties and re-
cyclability, i.e., they can be formed and dissolved in water. This
current investigation has explored that the Cl ions incorporated
polymer-SWCNTs composite materials having the capability of
reversible hydrogen storage. In near future, the polymer as a new
class of hydrogen storage media has to be explored both theo-
retically and experimentally further to construct a safe, cheap,
and adsorption/retrieval storage system.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors would like to thank Madurai Kamaraj Univer-
sity (MKU), Univeristy Grants Commission (UGC), Council of
266 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON NANOTECHNOLOGY, VOL. 13, NO. 2, MARCH 2014

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SILAMBARASAN et al.: WATER SOLUBLE POLYMER-SWCNT-BASED COMPOSITE FOR HYDROGEN STORAGE
V. Vasu received the Ph.D. degree in physics from
the Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai, India, in
1991.
He continued as a Research Associate till October
1994. He joined as a Lecturer in Madurai Kama-
raj University College during 1994. He is currenly
an Associate Professor at Madurai Kamaraj Univer-
sity, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. He has published
more than 65 research papers in Int journals and In-
ternational conferences. His field of research inter-
est includes semiconductor devices, thin films, and
nanoscience and nanotechnology.
267
K. Iyakutti received the Ph.D. degree in physics from
the University of Madras, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, In-
dia, in 1978.
He is currently an Emeritus Professor of the De-
partment of Physics and Nanotechnology in SRM
University, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. He joined
as a Lecturer in the Department of Nuclear Physics,
University of Madras, in 1978, and then as a Reader
in Madurai Kamaraj University in 1984. He was ap-
pointed as a Professor in 1987 and as a Senior Profes-
sor in 1998. He has more than 35 years of service in
Teaching (PG) and Research. He has guided many Ph.D., and M. Phil., Schol-
ars. His area of research is computational condensed matter physics including
nanoscience and technology. He has authored more than 250 research papers
in International, National Journals and Conferences. He has visited many re-
search centers abroad. He was responsible for the initiation of Electronic Band
structure Research in South India. He is the Fellow of Tamil Nadu Academy
of Sciences. He was an elected member of the syndicate of Madurai Kamaraj
University during 2000–2003. He was the Dean (Academic & Computeriza-
tion) Madurai Kamaraj University during 2005–08 and NACC Coordinator for
reaccreditation.