Media Release
Mangaluru, Dec 5: The undergraduate and postgraduate departments of Chemistry on December 2 organized an international webinar on ‘Water Splitting Catalyst for Green Hydrogen Energy’ on December 2 via an online platform.
Dr Prashanth Menezes, group head of Inorganic Materials Technical University, Berlin, Germany, who was recently recognized in Stanford University's list of the world's top scientists was the speaker for the session. Principal, Fr Dr Praveen Martis SJ, presided over the programme.
The webinar began with a prayer, followed by a welcome note by Jyothi Vaz, the assistant professor of the department of Chemistry, Crystal Menezes, the coordinator introduced the guest speaker, Dr Prashanth Menezes.
Addressing the participants Fr Dr Praveen Martis SJ said, “I compliment the department of Chemistry for their great efforts in organizing such national and international webinars, which have received tremendous response. Many more attempts like this will boost the students to take up Chemistry and also explore in the field of research.”
Dr Prashanth Menezes began the talk by congratulating the department of Chemistry for such initiatives. He spoke about the basics of Photocatalytic water splitting as an artificial photosynthesis process with photocatalysis in a photo electrochemical used for the dissociation of water into its constituent parts like hydrogen and oxygen, using either artificial or natural light.
Further, he also said that hydrogen fuel production has gained increased attention as public understanding of global warming has grown. Methods such as photocatalytic water splitting are being investigated to produce hydrogen, a clean-burning fuel. Water splitting holds particular promise since it utilizes water, an inexpensive renewable resource. Photocatalytic water splitting has the simplicity of using a catalyst and sunlight to produce hydrogen out of water.
The webinar concluded with the discussion followed by a thank you note by Jeesu George, the assistant professor of the department of Chemistry. Rachael Natasha Mary from the department of Chemistry compered the event.
About 450 participants actively took part in the webinar.