Vinod Janardhanan
Department of Chemical Engineering,
Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad.
I work in the broad area of electrochemical and catalytic systems, with a focus on developing fundamental understanding and predictive models for energy and chemical conversion processes. My research spans fuel cells and electrolyzers for green hydrogen production, molten salt electrolysis, electrochemical CO₂ reduction, and heterogeneous catalysis. A central theme of my work is the development of physics-based and microkinetic models that capture the interplay of transport phenomena, electrochemistry, and reaction kinetics. These models are used to gain mechanistic insights, guide experiments, and support the design and optimization of reactors and electrochemical devices.
Research Areas
Advancing clean energy and chemical processes through multi-scale modeling and experimental investigation.
Fuel Cells & Electrolyzers
Characterization of novel electro-catalysts for OER and ORR; Development of numerical models for fuel cells and electrolyzers.
Electrochemical CO2 reduction
Investigating novel pathways for converting CO2 into value-added chemicals through electrochemical synthesis.
Molten Salt Electrolysis
Studying high-temperature electrolysis for resource recovery and green metal production in molten salt environments.
Micro-kinetic models
Developing elementary-step reaction mechanisms to bridge the gap between surface science and macroscopic reactor behavior.
Heterogeneous Catalysis
Understanding catalytic surface interactions and developing robust kinetic models for industrial chemical processes.
Reactor Modeling
CFD-based optimization of chemical reactors, integrating detailed chemistry with complex flow and heat transport.
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Academic Courses
Selected undergraduate and graduate level courses offered at IIT Hyderabad.
Foundations of programming
Chemical Reactor Modeling
Fuel Cell Technology
Current Group Members ▼
Ashwin Mekkad
PhD Candidate
Research: OER/ORR in HTPEM.
Mayuri
M.Tech student
Research: Catalysts for ORR.
Athiradh
M.Tech student
Research: Catalyst deactivation.
Past PhD Students ▼
Dr Venkata Prakash
(2017 Jan - 2023 June)
Thesis: Experiments and modeing studies of biogas reforming.
Current: TATA Honeywell
Dr Vivek Pawar
(2013 Aug - 2020 May)
Thesis: Experimental investigation of catalyst deactivation and regeneration during biogas dry reforming.
Current: Faculty @ Thapar
Dr Sweta Lal
(2014 Aug - 2019 March)
Thesis: Small-scale power generation using paper based fuel cells.
Current: Faculty @ IISER Bhopal
Dr Anusree Unnikrishnan
(2013 Dec - 2019 July)
Thesis: Experimental and modeling studies of high temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell performance under poisoning conditions.
Current: L&T
Dr Srinivas Appari
(2010 Dec - 2014 July)
Thesis: Experimental and Theoretical Investigation of Catalyst Poisoning and Regeneration During Biogas Steam Reforming on Nickel.
Current: Faculty @ BITS Pilani
Past M.Tech Students ▼
Katari Vasu (2025)
Research: Alkaline water electrolysis
Current:
Harish Kumar (2024)
Research: Catalyst deactivation
Current: Genesis, Technip Energies India Ltd
Chetna Godara (2023)
Research: Catalyst deactivation
Current:
Ahmed (2022)
Research: Laminar flow cells
Current: PhD student @ IITD Abu Dhabi campus
Akshay Singh (2022)
Research: Micro-kinetic modeling
Current:
Vamsi Ambala (2019)
Research: HTPEM Modeling
Current: BARC
Uma Sai Mahesh (2018)
Research: Exery anaysis
Current: Numalighar Refinery
Venkata Prakash(2016)
Research: Coal devolatilization
Current: TATA Honeywell
Atul Meshram (2014)
Research: C deposition
Current:
Prashil Lakhete (2013)
Research: Modeling catalytic plate reactor
Current: SABIC
Geetha Narasimhaiah (2012)
Research: CO2 electrolysis
Current: Bloom Energy