Manila Ozhukil Valappil

Professional attributes

This page provides an overview of my academic and professional background, including education, research experience, publications, and selected achievements. A full version of my CV is available for download below. Beyond skills and achievements, I believe it’s important to show the values and motivations that guide my work. The diagram below represents my professional “Ikigai” , where my strengths, passions, societal needs, and career paths intersect. This is how I see my role as a researcher, mentor, and communicator.

Profile Summary

An electrochemistry researcher with hands-on experience in Cyclic Voltammetry, Linear Sweep Voltammetry, Chronoamperometry, and Rotating Disc Electrode techniques. Skilled in experiment design, data collection, and analysis, ensuring accurate and reproducible results. Brings experience in laboratory management and strategic planning, with a focus on maintaining an organized and efficient research environment. Experienced in carbon-based and other 2D materials, including Graphene Oxide, Reduced Graphene Oxide, Graphene Quantum Dots, Phosphorene, MoS2, WS2 nanostructures, and Bismuthene synthesis. Proficient in spectroscopy (FT-IR, Raman, UV-Vis, Photoluminescence, XPS, EPR), X-ray diffraction, gas chromatography, electron microscopy (SEM, AFM, TEM), gas sorption analysis, and electrochemical workstation operation (Gamry, Wavedriver, Autolab, BioLogic). Applies statistical methods to verify experimental findings, ensuring meaningful interpretation of electrochemical/materials characterization results. Regularly mentors and guides Ph.D. and M.Sc. students, assisting with research planning, data evaluation, and scientific writing. Presents findings at conferences and contributes to peer-reviewed publications, supporting collaborative research efforts.

Education

  • Ph.D. in Chemical Sciences (2020): Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), New Delhi/ CSIR-Central Electrochemical Research Institute (CECRI), Karaikudi, India.
  • MSc. Applied Chemistry (2013): Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT), Cochin, Kerala, India.
  • BSc. Chemistry (2011): University of Calicut, Kerala, India.

Career Experience

  • 01/2025-Present: Senior Postdoctoral Researcher/Marie-Curie Postdoctoral Fellow, Nanoelectrocatalysis and Sustainable Chemistry Group, ICN2, Barcelona

    Carrying out an independent project funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 101155151, on converting methane into green fuels using electrochemical devices (COMFUELS).

  • 06/2022 – 12/ 2024: Postdoctoral Scholar, 2D Materials and Electrochemical Devices Lab, University of Waterloo, ON, Canada

    Carried out electrochemical exfoliation of 2D materials and incorporation into near-infrared photodetectors, as well as electrochemical energy storage/conversion devices, in collaboration National Research Council, Ottawa, Canada. Also served as Associate Researcher, Scalable 2D-Materials Architectures (2D-MATURE)—An International training program for Graduate Students on 2D materials research.

  • 02/ 2020 – 04/ 2022: CFREF-Postdoctoral Research Associate, Birss Research Group, University of Calgary, AB, Canada

    Conducted research on developing selective CO2 conversion molecular electrocatalysts using novel conducting materials and strategies to mitigate carbon-support corrosion, designing experiments, gathering data, and maintaining laboratory safety standards. Collaborated within a multidisciplinary team, I independently advanced in research, published findings in peer-reviewed journals, mentored graduate students, and presented results in institutional meetings and international conferences.

List of Publications

Total citations as on 13th October 2025 = 666, h-index = 13

Google Scholar

  1. “Nanoporous graphene by quantum dots removal from graphene and its conversion to a potential oxygen reduction electrocatalyst via nitrogen doping” Thangavelu Palaniselvam, Manila Ozhukil Valappil, Rajith Illathvalappil and Sreekumar Kurungot, Energy Environ. Sci., 2014, 7,1059.
  2. “Atomic Layers in Electrochemical Biosensing Applications – Graphene and Beyond” (Review article). Manila O. Valappil, Subbiah Alwarappan, and Tharangattu N Narayanan, Current Organic Chemistry, 2015, 19, 1163.
  3. “A Single-step electrochemical synthesis for luminescent WS2 quantum dots” O. V Manila, A.Anil, M.M Shaijumon, V.K Pillai and A Subbiah, Chem. Eur. J. 2017, 23,9144.
  4. “Spotlighting graphene quantum dots and beyond: Synthesis, properties and sensing applications” Manila Ozhukil Valappil, Vijayamohanan K. Pillai and Subbiah Alwarappan, Applied Materials Today,2017, 9, 350.
  5. “Adsorption kinetics of WS2 quantum dots onto a polycrystalline gold surface” Manila Ozhukil Valappil, Mekkat Roopesh, Subbiah Alwarappan, and Vijayamohanan K Pillai, Langmuir, 2018, 34,19, 5374.
  6. “A Single-Step, Electrochemical Synthesis of Nitrogen-doped Blue Luminescent Phosphorene Quantum Dots” Manila Ozhukil Valappil, Monika Ahlawat, Subbiah Alwarappan, and Vijayamohanan K Pillai, Chem. Commun., 2018,54, 11733.
  7. “Electrochemically Chopped WS2 Quantum Dots as an Efficient and Stable Electrocatalyst for Water Reduction” Ananthraj Sengeni, Manila Ozhukil Valappil#, Karthick, Vijayamohanan K Pillai, Subbiah Alwarappan and Subrata Kundu, Catal.Sci.Technol.,2019,9, 223. #Co-first authorship.
  8. “Role of Structural Distortion in Stabilizing Electrosynthesized Blue-Emitting Phosphorene Quantum Dots” Manila Ozhukil Valappil, Krati Joshi, Lisa John, Sailaja Krishnamurthy, Bikash Jana, Amitava Patra, Vijayamohanan K. Pillai and Subbiah Alwarappan, J. Phys.Chem. Lett.2019,10,973.
  9. “Electrochemically exfoliated porous WS2 nanosheets: A potential electrochemical sensing platform for chlorpromazine detection” Nandhini Subramanian, Mohananpriya Karuppiah, Manila Ozhukil Valappil, Noel Nesakumar, Srinivasan Kesavan, and Subbiah Alwarappan. J.Electrochem.Soc, 2020, 166, B749.
  10. “Electrochemical transformation of black phosphorous to phosphorene quantum dots: effect of nitrogen doping” Manila Ozhukil Valappil, Subbiah Alwarappan, and Vijayamohanan K Pillai. Mater. Res. Express, 2020,7,014005.
  11. “Tungsten disulfide Quantum Dots Based Disposable Paper Based Lab on GenoChip for Specific Meningitis DNA Detection” Riya Gupta, Manila Ozhukil Valappil, Arunkumar Sakthivel, Ashish Mathur, Chandra Shekhar Pundir, Kathiresan Murugavel, Jagriti Narang and Subbiah Alwarappan. J.Electrochem.Soc, 2020, 167, 107501
  12. “Bismuthene nanosheets produced by ionic liquid assisted grinding exfoliation and their use for oxygen reduction reaction” Manila Ozhukil Valappil, Abhijit Ganguly, John Benson, Vijayamohanan K. Pillai, Subbiah Alwarappan and Pagona Papakonstantinou. RSC Adv., 2020, 10, 43585.
  13. “Phosphorene oxide quantum dots decorated ZnO nanostructure-based hydrogen gas sensor” Bhati Vijendra Singh, Kumar Ashok, Ozhukil Valappil Manila, Subbiah Alwarappan, Kumar Mahesh. IEEE Sensors Journal, 2021, 21, 6, 7283.
  14. “Corrosion Susceptibility of Mesoporous Carbons: Evidential Understanding of the Effects of Quasi-Passive Oxide Formation” Manila Ozhukil Valappil, Farisa Forouzandeh, Marwa Atwa, Samantha Luong and Viola Ingrid Birss. ECS Meeting abstracts., 2021, MA2021-02 541.
  15. “Phosphorene quantum dots: synthesis, properties and catalytic applications” Manila Ozhukil Valappil, Subbiah Alwarappan, and Vijayamohanan K Pillai, Nanoscale, 2022, 14, 1037-1053.
  16. “The Influence of Monolayer and Multilayer Diazonium Functionalities on the Electrochemical Oxidation of Nanoporous Carbons” Samantha Luong, Marwa Atwa, Manila Ozhukil Valappil, and Viola I. Birss. J. Electrochem. Soc.,2022, 169, 031512. (Special issue on Women in Electrochemistry)
  17. “N-Doped Nanoporous Carbon Scaffolds As Catalysts for CO2 Reduction” Jialang Li, Manila Ozhukil Valappil, Erwan Bertin and Viola Ingrid Birss, ECS Meeting abstracts, MA2022-01 1782.
  18. “Understanding passive oxide formation at carbon and its role on corrosion susceptibility” Manila Ozhukil Valappil, Farisa Forouzandeh, Xiaoan Li, Samantha Luong, Marwa Atwa, Viola Ingrid Birss, Electrochimica Acta, 2022, 422, 140444.
  19. “Hydrophobic nanoporous carbon scaffolds reveal the origin of polarity-dependent electrocapillary imbibition” Bin Pan, Manila Ozhukil Valappil, Richard Rateick, Jr., Christopher R. Clarkson, Xia Tong, Chris Debuhr, Amin Ghanizadeh, and Viola I. Birss, Chem. Sci., 2023,14, 1372-1385. (Highlighted as journal back cover).
  20. “Embedded Platinum-Cobalt Nanoalloys in Biomass-Derived Laser Induced Graphene as Stable, Air-Breathing Cathodes for Zinc-Air Batteries” Tahani Aldhafeeri, Marianna Uceda, Angad Singh, Manila Ozhukil Valappil, Michael Fowler and Michael A. Pope, ACS Applied Nano Materials. 2023, 6, 10, 8302–8314.
  21. “Electrolyte-mediated assembly of graphene-based supercapacitors using adsorbed ionic liquid/non-ionic surfactant complexes” Sima Lashkari, Manila Ozhukil Valappil, Rajinder Pal and Michael A. Pope. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 2023, 11, 11222-11234.
  22. “Pulsed laser deposition grown La0.3Ca0.7Fe0.7Cr0.3O3-δ thin films on yttria-stabilized zirconia substrates for fundamental electrochemical energy conversion studies” Haris Ansari, Dhanvini Gudi, Dipanjan Nandi, Ozhukil Valappil Manila, Yuan Hui, Guanluigi Botton, Manisha Gupta, and Viola I. Birss. Thin Solid Films, 2023, 784,140071.
  23. “Toward Scalable Electrochemical Exfoliation of Molybdenum Disulfide Powder through an Accessible Electrode Design” Nicholas David Wilson, Manila Ozhukil Valappil#, Barbara Y. Martin, Teri Siu, Joel Pennings, Mira Mackintosh, Mahmoud N. Almadhoun, Jianying Ouyang, Neil Graddage, and Michael A. Pope. Small Methods 2024, 2400298 (#Co-first authorship.)
  24. “Rethinking Electrochemical Exfoliation: Controlled Cathodic Intercalation at Low Overpotentials for High-Quality, Atomically Thin MoS2 Layers without Gas Evolution-Induced Expansion” Manila Ozhukil Valappil, Teri Siu, Barbara Y. Martin, Nicholas Wilson, Varshini Rajakumaran, Darsh Kanani, Jochen Konieczny, Jury J. Medvedev, Jianying Ouyang, Neil Graddage,2 Rodney D.L. Smith, Franziska Münzer, Michael A Pope. Chemistry of Materials, 2025, 37, 15, 5658–5671.

Awards/Honours/Certifications

  • Nominated for “Emerging Leader” recognition by the Editorial Board, Nanotechnology, IOP Publishing (2025).
  • Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship 2024: A highly competitive European Union fellowship supporting independent, innovative, and interdisciplinary research at The Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2), Barcelona, Spain.
  • Nominated for “Emerging Leader” recognition by the Editorial Board, 2D Materials, IOP Publishing (2024).
  • Wiley Small Methods Best Poster Award at the “Flatlands beyond Graphene 2023” conference, Prague, Czech Republic, 25-29 Sept. 2023.
  • Outstanding Reviewer (of the year 2022), Journal of Materials Chemistry A, Royal Society of Chemistry, 2023.
  • Certification on Fundamentals of University Teaching- offered by Centre for Teaching Excellence, University of Waterloo, 2023.
  • Recognized as a Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry, UK, 2022.
  • Canada First Research Excellence Fund Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of Calgary, Canada, 2020.
  • RSC Materials Chemistry Frontiers Best Poster Prize, India, 2019.
  • Best poster award at National Symposium in Chemistry-24, India 2019
  • British Council’s Newton-Bhabha Fellowship, Ulster University, UK, 2018.
  • Indo-French Centre for Advanced Scientific Research -ESONN Fellowship, University of Joseph Fourier, France, 2016.
  • IC-IMPACTS Sponsorship to attend Summer Institute on Nanotechnologies, University of Alberta, Canada, 2016.
  • Qualified Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering, India 2014.
  • Junior Research Fellowship & National Eligibility Test for Lectureship in Chemical Sciences, India, 2013.
  • 4th Rank in Master of Science in Applied Chemistry Examination, Cochin University of Science and Technology, India, 2013.
  • Rajiv Gandhi Talent Search Award, Jawaharlal Nehru Center for Advanced Scientific Research, India,  2012.
  • 1st Rank in Bachelor of Science Examination in Chemistry, University of Calicut, India, 2011

Selected Conferences & Workshops

  • Selected participant, “Science Speaks: Summer School on Science Communication” organized by MEDNIGHT project funded by the European Commission and the MCAA Communication Working Group, Velancia, Spain, 5th-6th September, 2025.
  • Invited Speaker (Title: Electrochemical Approaches for Decarbonizing Chemical Production), Special Session on EU Projects, The 8th International Conference on Transportation Information and Safety, Transportation+Artificial Intelligence+Green Energy: Making a Sustainable World (ICTIS 2025), Granada, Spain, 16th-19th July 2025.
  • Participant, Workshop on “Crafting a winning ERC proposal”, Academia Joven de España, virtual, 27th May 2025.
  • Participant, Marie Curie Alumni Association (MCAA) Annual Conference and General Assembly, Krakow, Poland, 21st-22nd March 2025.
  • Keynote speaker, International Seminar on Global Innovations in Nutraceuticals and Sustainable Energy, Little Flower College, Guruvayur, University of Calicut, Kerala, India, 08th January 2025.  Delivered a 45-minute lecture to undergraduate and master’s chemistry students, introducing electrochemical strategies for clean energy, drawing on interdisciplinary research experience in catalysis and materials science.
  • Oral Presentation, Canadian Chemical Engineering Conference (CsCHE), Calgary, Canada, 29th October- 1st November 2023.
  • Poster Presentation, Flatlands beyond Graphene 2023, Prague, Czech Republic, 25th-29th September 2023.
  • Poster Presentation, WIN-NRC Workshop, University of Waterloo, 9th March 2023.
  • Oral presentation, 240th ECS Meeting, 10-14th October 2021 (Virtual).
  • Poster Presentation, IW2DM-2019 International Workshop on 2D Materials, IISER-Thiruvananthapuram, 2019.
  • Poster Presentation, ChemPhysMat-209 International Conference in Chemistry & Physics of Materials, JNCASR-Bangalore, 2019.
  • Poster Presentation, CRSI-NSC 24-2019 National Symposium in Chemistry, CSIR-CLRI & IIT-Madras, 2019.
  • Participant, Prof. Prashant Kamat’s ECS India Section School, Applications of Functional Materials for Electrochemical Energy Conversion, Amrita Vishwavidyapeetham University-Coimbatore, 2017.
  • Poster Presentation, ABSMSNW-17 International Conference on Advances in Biological Systems & Materials Science in Nanoworld, BHU-Varanasi, 2017.
  • Oral & Poster Presentation, ESONN-2016 European School on Nanoscience & Nanotechnologies, CEA-Grenoble, 2016.

Memberships & Affiliations

  • The Electrochemical Society, Member ID: 429429, 2021 – Present
  • Royal Society of Chemistry, Member ID: 713136, 2022 – Present
  • Chemical Research Society of India, Lifetime Member ID: LM 2711, 2019 – Present
  • IUPAC, Affiliate Member 2021-Present

Volunteering

  • Freelance Writer: Content Writer for e-science portals, 2020 – Present
  • Reviewer/ Review Editor: Frontiers in Chemistry, 2023 – Present; Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 2020 – Present; Current Opinions in Chemistry, 2025-Present.
  • Mentorship: RSC Mentorloop, 2025-Present
CV_Manila O.V Oct 2025Download
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