Vinod C Prabhakaran

Vinod C Prabhakaran

Catalysis Division

About Me

We work in the field of surface science with special emphasize on understanding nanoscale catalysis phenomena. To design new functional nanomaterials for catalytic application requires a molecular level understanding on the bond breaking and making process on the catalyst surface. We create flat model catalyst surfaces and employ surface sensitive technique like X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and high resolution microscopes like STM and AFM to study them under close to working conditions.

Professional Experience

  • Oct 2010- Current- Sr.Scientist, National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, India
  • 2009-2010 Post Doctoral Research Fellow (with Prof. Adam F Lee), School of Chemistry, Cardiff University, United Kingdom
  • 2007-2009 Associate Professor, Center For Nanotechnology Research, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, Tamilnadu
  • 2005-2007 Post Doctoral Research Fellow (with Prof. Ib Chorkendorff), Center For Individual Nanoparticle Functionality (CINF), Technical University of Denmark, Denmark
  • 2002-2005 Post Doctoral Research Fellow (with Prof. Ben Nieuwenhuys), Technical University of Eindhoven/Leiden University, The Netherlands
  • 1995-2001 Ph.D Student (with Prof. C. N. R. Rao FRS), JNCASR, Jakkur, Bangalore/Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, Kerala

Selected Publications

  • A. C. Sunil Sekhar, K. V. Ziyad, Y. Soni And C. P. Vinod*, Activity enhancement on Titanium incorporation: Au@Ti-SiO2 core shell nanocatalysts for CO oxidation reaction, ChemCatChem., 7 (7), 1222 - 1230 (2015), DOI:10.1002/cctc.201402954.
  • Vysakh A. Bharathan, Chinchu Lizen Babu And C. P. Vinod*, "Demonstration of Synergistic Catalysis in Au@Ni Bimetallic Core Shell Nanostructures", J Phys Chem C., 119 (15), 8138 - 8146 (2015), DOI:10.1021/jp5128089.
  • S. Sreedhala and C. P. Vinod*, Surfactant assisted formation of Ruthenium nanochains under mild conditions and their catalytic CO oxidation activity, Chemical Communications., 51, 10178 - 10181 (2015), DOI:10.1039/C4CC09430A.
  • Vysakh A. Bharathan, Govind K Raj, P. A. Joy And C. P. Vinod*, “Synthesis and Reactivity of Magnetically Diverse Au@Ni Core-shell Nanostructures”, Particle & Particle Systems Characterization., 31, 236 - 244 (2014), DOI:10.1002/ppsc.201300195.
  • S. Sreedhala, V. SudheeshKumar And C. P. Vinod* , “Structure Sensitive Chemical Reactivity by Palladium Concave Nanocubes and Nanoflowers Synthesised by Seed Mediated Procedure in Aqueous Medium”, Nanoscale., 6, 7496 - 7502 (2014), DOI:10.1039/c4nr01283f.
  • A. C. Sunil Sekhar, C. J. Meera, K. V. Ziyad, Chinnakonda. S. Gopinath And C. P. Vinod*, "Synthesis and catalytic activity of monodisperse gold–mesoporous silica core–shell nanocatalysts”, Catal. Sci. Technol., 3, 1190 (2013).
  • C. P. Vinod, “Surface science as a tool for probing nanocatalysis phenomena”, Catalysis Today., 154, 113 (2010).
    Special Issue on the occasion of the retirement of Prof. Ben Nieuwenhuys (Leiden/Eindhoven University)
  • C. P. Vinod, G. U. Kulkarni And C. N. R. Rao, “Size dependent changes on the electronic structure of metal clusters as investigated by Scanning tunneling spectroscopy”, Chem.Phys. Lett., 289, 329 (1998).

Research Interest

  • Surface Science
  • Nanocatalysis
  • Spectroscopy

Contact Details

Dr. Vinod C Prabhakaran

Sr. Principal Scientist 
Office: Room No.135C , Main building
National Chemical Laboratory
Dr. Homi Bhabha Road
Pune 411008, India
Phone  +91 20 2590 2086
Fax +91 20 2590 2633
E-mail cp.vinod@ncl.res.in