The leaves of plants have been doing it forever, creating their own energy through photosynthesis. Inside the chemistry building at Dalhousie University is the Dasog Research Group. This lab is where research takes place to generate energy, chemical fuels, and freshwater using sunlight. What’s really cool is that Dr. Mita Dasog and her team are being inspired by the process of photosynthesis from plants to make green hydrogen.
A Method Rooted in Material Science
The Reimagined Energy podcast recently welcomed a distinguished guest, Mita Dasog, to share insights into her intriguing background and career journey. Growing up in the prairies, she started her academic journey at the University of Saskatchewan, proceeding to attain her PhD at the University of Alberta. Her fascination with material science and work with nanomaterials during her studies helped shape her future career path. A postdoctoral fellowship at Caltech opened her eyes to the world of renewable energy, a passion that led her to join the ranks at Dalhousie University, focusing on renewable energy applications using nanomaterials.
Vision and Focus in Research
At Dalhousie University, Mita heads the DESSOG research group that concentrates on two significant areas – water treatment (with an emphasis on desalination) and sustainable green fuel production, notably hydrogen. Utilizing nanomaterials in their research, the group strives to maintain the highest standards of sustainability, scalability, and efficiency. They aspire to source materials sustainably, work predominantly with abundant and inexpensive elements, and aim at engineering materials capable of delivering long-term performance and recyclability.
Pursuing Green Hydrogen
Mita’s work on green hydrogen production using artificial photosynthesis is nothing short of revolutionary. Echoing nature, they design photocatalysts inspired by plants to absorb sunlight and split water into hydrogen and oxygen. The goal? To produce green hydrogen through a cost-effective, sustainable photocatalysis process. By engaging in useful oxidation reactions, they aim to generate value-added products like aldehydes, alongside hydrogen production.
Potential Challenges and Future Directions
Scaling up their green hydrogen production technology while ensuring long-term performance and sustainability isn’t without its challenges, as Mita explains. Improving efficiency, testing materials for durability, and exploring new applications, such as wastewater treatment, are crucial steps needed to advance their research. To overcome these hurdles, Mita and her team collaborate with experts across various disciplines, making their research an interdisciplinary effort.
As the podcast episode concluded, Maria McGowan expressed her enthusiasm about the future possibilities of Mita Dasog’s research work. They touch upon the potential applications in wastewater treatment and the continued exploration of new avenues for their technology. The conversation underlines the interdisciplinary nature of their research and the crucial role played by collaboration in pushing the boundaries of innovation in the field of renewable energy. The episode serves as an enlightening dive into Mita Dasog’s journey, presenting a deeper understanding of her research focus, the challenges faced, and the future prospects in the field of green energy production.
A podcast about Mita Dasog’s work on renewable energy using nanomaterials, focusing on desalination and green hydrogen production, highlighting interdisciplinary collaboration and future research directions.
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