Presentation Title: Electrospun Nanomaterials for the hydrogen economy
Abstract
Clean and green energy are frontline research areas today worldwide to substitute the fossil based fuel to minimize greenhouse effects. Hydrogen is one of the prominent clean and green energy alternate to fossil fuels. It is a high calorific, carbon free renewable energy. Hydrogen is abundantly available on earth in combined form such as water, hydrocarbons, natural gases etc. Efficient generation of hydrogen from these sources without making pollution is an utmost priority. Photocatalytic hydrogen generation by splitting water using sunlight is one of the recent research areas of interest due to abundant availability of solar energy. Advanced research on photocatalytic materials is needed to accelerate H2 generation using solar energy. Among various forms of photocatalytic materials, nanofiber based metal/metal oxide semiconducting materials owing to their unique physio-chemical properties show great potential for splitting of water over other nanostructured materials. In this keynote lecture, various nanostructure semiconducting materials used for photocatalytic water splitting will be presented with a special emphasis on electrospun nanofibers. Various factors affecting the photocatalytic conversion efficiency, modification and performance enhancement strategies of various types of nanofibers (oxides and non-oxides) for generation of hydrogen from water also will be presented. Also, the challenges and future prospectus of electrospun nanofiber based photocatalytic materials towards hydrogen generation will be deliberated.
Biographical Sketch
Academecian Seeram Ramakrishna, FREng, Everest Chair is a world-renowned professor of cross-field at the National University of Singapore (NUS), which is ranked among the top eight universities in the world. He is among the World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds. Clarivate Analytics recognized him among the Top 1% Highly Cited Researchers in the world in materials science and cross-fields categories. He is listed among the top 25 scientists in Nanoscience & Nanotechnologyby Ioannidis | Stanford University c-score. His publications to date received an H-index of 191 and 181,275 citations. Highest professional distinctions include an elected Fellow | Academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering, China; Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng), UK; Indian National Academy of Engineering, India; ASEAN Academy of Engineering & Technology; and Singapore Academy of Engineering. He is also anelected Fellow of AAAS, ASM International, ASME, AIMBE, USA; IMechE and IoM3, UK; ISTE, India; and IUBSE (FBSE). He received PhD from the University of Cambridge, UK, and the GMP training from Harvard University, USA. He is regarded as the guru of electrospinning & nanofiber applications. His academic leadership includes NUS Vice-President (Research); Dean of NUS Faculty of Engineering; Director of NUS Enterprise; Director of NUS Industry and Technology RelationsOffice; Director of NUS International Relations Office; Founding Director of NUS Bioengineering; Founding Director of NUS Nanoscience & Nanotechnology Institute; and Founding Chairman of $100 million Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS). He is a leading voice in Singapore’s net-zero and circular economy advocacy.