Hyderabad: Professor Samar Kumar Das, a faculty member at the School of Chemistry, University of Hyderabad, was awarded the prestigious J C Bose fellowship for his research contributions in the area of sustainable and renewable energy
His research is particularly relevant in today’s society for several reasons. Fossil fuels, which are non-renewable energy sources, are being depleted daily from our planet. The use of fossil fuels releases large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which negatively impacts the environment.
Professor Das’s research focuses on functional inorganic materials, which are essential for developing innovative science and technology solutions to address the issues of sustainable and renewable energy, a press release said.
Over the next five years, his team will focus on photo- and electro-catalytic water splitting, electrocatalysis, and the development of inexpensive metal-oxide-based proton exchange membranes for fuel cells to achieve carbon-free sustainable energy.
Samar Kumar Das has been exploring functional inorganic materials that are essential to address the issues of sustainable or renewable energy and a clean environment.
He has been actively engaged in a water-splitting initiative aimed at creating cost-effective metal-oxide materials inorder to address contemporary challenges.
These materials serve dual purposes by acting as catalysts for water splitting and demonstrating proton conductivity as well as oxygen reduction capabilities for fuel cells.
Within his research team, they have successfully engineered materials capable of detecting harmful substances such as azide anion and methanol, addressing healthcare concerns. Moreover, these materials have the added capability of capturing atmospheric carbon dioxide, contributing to efforts in mitigating environmental issues.
