The result obtained by IIT Mandi research team has been published in the international journal, ChemPhotChem. IIT Mandi research team comprises Dr. Venkata Krishnan, Associate Professor (Chemistry), School of Basic Sciences, IIT Mandi along with his research scholars Mr. Ashish Kumar, Mr. Ajay Kumar and Dr. M. V. Shankar from Yogi Vemana University along with his research scholar Mr. Vempuluru Navakoteswara Rao.

After all, if plants and trees can use sunlight to carry out life-sustaining chemical reactions, why can’t we do it in the lab?” asks Dr. Venkata Krishnan.

A specific and useful example of a photocatalytic reaction is the splitting of water into hydrogen and oxygen.

Although this reaction was demonstrated as early as 1972 by Fujishima and Honda, the inefficiency of the process has been a bottleneck in scaling up the technology for practical applications.

In addition, the researchers have also used these photocatalysts in the degradation of organic pollutants found in water.

Speaking about the work by IIT Mandi research team Dr. Venkata Krishnan said the performance of a photocatalytic reaction depends upon the efficiency with which the photocatalyst converts light energy into photogenerated charges that drives the reaction of interest.

Oxide materials such as titania and titanates are commonly studied photocatalysts, but these materials are often inefficient by themselves because the electrons and holes combine before the reaction can be propelled forward.

Mesocrystals, a new class of ‘superstructures’ made of highly ordered nanoparticles, could limit the recombination of electron–hole pairs because the free electrons that are generated flow between particles before they can recombine with the hole, says Dr. Venkata Krishnan who is the IIT Mandi research team.

It may be known that graphene is the new wonder-material in the field of materials science, ever since its isolation earned the Nobel Prize in 2010.

Their combination showed a 33-fold enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen evolution over pure calcium titanate, with apparent light-to-electron conversion efficiencies of 5.4 %, 3.0 % and 17.7 % for light of three different wavelengths, orange light (600 nm wavelength) producing the highest efficiency, said Venkata Krishnan who is a part of IIT Mandi research team.

Dr. Venkata Krishnan attributes the enhancement in photocatalytic performance of their material combination, to three factors.

Also read ‘IIT Madras comes up with a new method to produce high energy oil‘

The three factors are the intimate contact between the three components, which leads to better electron transfer, the high surface area that provides more space for the reaction to take place and specific sites on molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) that act as sticky sites for the positive hydrogen ions that are generated during the reaction, which in turn enhances hydrogen production.

IIT Mandi research team is excited about the future directions to this work. IIT Mandi research team believes that their strategy can be adopted to improve the properties and performance of other mesocrystals, which can lead to the fabrication of low-cost and multifunctional catalysts for diverse applications.

About – IIT Mandi 

Since the first batch of 97 students joined in July 2009, IIT Mandi has grown to currently host 125 faculty and 1,655 students who are enrolled in various programmes of studies in undergraduate, postgraduate and research programmes, and 1,141 alumni. IIT Mandi is a fully residential campus with 1.4 lakh sq. m. buildings completed. It has a guest house with 88 rooms, an 750-seater Auditorium, campus school, sports complex and hospital.

IIT Mandi has four Academic Schools and three major Research Centers. The Schools are: School of Computing and Electrical Engineering, School of Basic Sciences, School of Engineering, and School of Humanities and Social Sciences.

The Centers are: Advanced Materials Research Centre (AMRC; set up with an investment of Rs. 60 crore), Centre for Design and Fabrication of Electrical Devices (C4DFED; has Rs. 50 crore worth of fabrication tools), and BioX Centre (has acquired research equipment worth Rs. 15 crore). In 2017, the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, selected IIT Mandi to lead the prestigious Rs. 10 crore FarmerZone Project.

To cater to the growing and changing needs of Indian industry and the aspirations of students, IIT Mandi has introduced 7 B.Tech., 7 M.Tech., 5 M.Sc., 4 Ph.D., 1 I-Ph.D and 1 M.A programmes in the past 10 years.

The unique, project-oriented B.Tech. curriculum is centered around its 4-year long Design and Innovation stream.

From August 2019, IIT Mandi started 3 new and unique B. Tech. programmes in Data Science and Engineering, Engineering Physics, and Dual Degree in Bioengineering.

Since the inception of the Institute, IIT Mandi faculty have been involved in over 275 Research and Development (R&D) projects worth more than Rs. 120 crore.

In the past 10 years, the Institute has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with as many as 11 international and 12 national universities.

The schedule to submit applications for JEE Advanced 2025 has been announced along with that of AAT 2025 registration,

Application process for AAT starts after result declaration of JEE Advanced. This year too, the trend is no different.

Who will conduct AAT 2025?

AAT 2025 will be conducted by IIT Kanpur and is expected to see a participation in impressive numbers. The same institution is conducting JEE Advanced 2025.

Details about the exam are available on the official website mentioned above. Students who pass AAT 2025 will be able to study BArch in IIT Roorkee, IIT Kharagpur and IIT (BHU) Varnasi.

Who can take up AAT 2025 registration?

Students who have passed JEE Advanced 2025 with required qualifying marks can take up AAT 2025 registration. Applying for JEE Advanced requires a pass in JEE Mains.

Candidates who have passed plus two with maths, physics and chemistry as subjects will be able to take up JEE Mains registration. The process to take up JEE Advanced AAT 2025 registration is online.

1. The URL has to be typed into the browser and the webpage has to be allowed to download.

2. Once the website is available, students should click the link for JEE Advanced AAT 2025 registration and enter JEE Advanced 2025 registration number, their date of birth, mobile number and email address.

3. Post providing the above details, applicants will be asked if they are interested in AAT. Students have to answer ‘Yes’ to take up JEE Advanced AAT 2025 registration.

4. Candidates have to provide the required information and choose the centers where they wish to write the exam and submit the form.

5. They will receive message indicating successful completion of JEE Advanced AAT 2025 registration.

The message has to be downloaded and a printout of it has to be taken and preserved for use in future. This could be of use during the admission process.

Website for JEE Advanced 2025/AAT 2025 Registration is Here

Exam pattern

Candidates who have completed JEE Advanced AAT 2025 registration must also know the exam pattern if they are to score good marks.

Those who have taken up AAT 2025 registration can take up the exam which will be held in offline mode, as a pen and paper mode test.

Candidates will have three hours time to answer all the questions. The medium of the test is English.

The sections in the question paper are – Imagination and aesthetic sensitivity, three dimensional perception, Geometrical drawing, Freehand drawing and Architectural Awareness.

Syllabus for AAT 2025

The next thing to do after completing AAT 2025 registration is focus on preparing for the test.

The subjects to be studied while preparing for AAT 2025 are mentioned below. Candidates can also refer the official website for more information on syllabus when the registration for the exam begins:

Geometrical Drawing

Exercises in geometrical drawing containing lines, angles, triangles, quadrilaterals, polygons, circles, etc. Study of plan (top view), elevation (front or side views) of simple solid objects like prisms, cones, cylinders, cubes, splayed surface holders, etc.

Freehand Drawing

This would comprise of simple drawing depicting the total object in its right form and proportion, surface texture, relative location and details of its component parts in appropriate scale.

Common domestic or day-to-day life usable objects like furniture, equipment, etc., from memory.

Three dimension perception

Understanding and appreciation of three-dimensional forms with building elements, colour, volume and orientation. Visualization through structuring objects in memory.

Architectural Awareness

General interest and awareness of famous architectural creations – both national and international, places and personalities (architects, designers, etc.) in the related domain.

Imagination and Aesthetic Sensitivity

Composition exercise with given elements. Context mapping.

Creativity check through innovative uncommon test with familiar objects. Sense of colour grouping or application.

The medium of the test is English. The sections in the question paper are – Imagination and aesthetic sensitivity, three dimensional perception, Geometrical drawing, Freehand drawing and Architectural Awareness.

The admit cards obtained for JEE Advanced 2025 can also be used to gain entry into the test centers for AAT 2024.

Point to remember

Candidates can visit the official website of JEE Advanced exam for more information on JEE Advanced AAT 2025 registration and other related topics.

The students have to quickly take up the AAT 2025 registration as the time left would be very short.

Like JEE Advanced exam where the registration is open for a longer duration, that of AAT 2025 registration is open for only a short period.

The details about AAT 2025 registration provided above are for general understanding purpose of the students.

There could be some changes in the exam, students can visit the official website of the exam at regular intervals to receive updates.

More information could be provided as the time for AAT 2025 registration would commence, till that time, students can refer other sources also.

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