Koushik Ranu, a PhD student who is under Prof. Antoni Llobet and Dr. Carlos García Bellido supervision has successfully defended his PhD thesis entitled “A Journey to Molecular Electro(Photo-)anodes for Water Oxidation” publicly on Tuesday, November 18.
The members of the evaluation committee were Dr. Mª Victoria Jiménez Rupérez (Universidad de Zaragoza), Dr. Marta Estrader Bofarull (Universitat de Barcelona) and Dr. Nicolas Le Poul (Université de Bretagne Occidentale).
Koushik Ranu is from West Bengal, India. He earned his M.Sc. in Chemical Sciences from the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS), Kolkata, and his B.Sc. in Chemistry from Krishnath College under Kalyani University. Beyond science, he enjoys sketching, painting, yoga-meditation, and playing guitar.
During his PhD at ICIQ, he received several external grants: the ICIQ International PhD Fellowship (PhD 2020-32 ALL), the FI AGAUR Fellowship from the Government of Catalunya (2022 FI_B 00459), and the ICIQ Severo Ochoa International Mobility Fellowship 2024.
Why did you become a scientist?
Honestly, my interest in science started with my love for painting and colors. I was always amazed when mixing two colors created an entirely new one. Later, when I learned the scientific reason behind it and how our eyes perceive light and blend colors instead of separating the pigments, I became even more curious. During school, I often took part in science exhibitions, and I loved seeing how mixing two chemicals could change their color, just like in painting. That’s when I realized that every observation around us has a scientific explanation. This curiosity made me want to understand the world through logic and evidence. Over time, my interest naturally grew toward chemistry, where I could explore these changes more deeply and use that knowledge to solve real-world problems.
What is your thesis about?
My doctoral thesis is mainly focused on the development of the solid-state molecular-based Hybrid anodes for Water Oxidation. Water Oxidation is one of the most challenging reactions to generate sustainable green hydrogen via Artificial Photosynthesis. Here, I have explored various anchoring strategies to immobilize Ru and Cu based Molecular Water Oxidation Catalysts (Mol-WOCs) on conductive metal oxide, graphitic surfaces or semiconductor to build hybrid molecular materials which could be integrated into technical devices for the generation of solar fuel.
What triggered your interest for the subject of your thesis?
Most of the world’s energy still comes from burning fossil fuels which is main driver of climate change. In order to tackle this, we need to switch to alternative energy source. Artificial photosynthesis offers a promising solution by using sunlight to split water and produce hydrogen. My passion for contributing to this sustainable energy technology inspired me to pursue doctoral research in redox catalysis for Artificial Photosynthesis.
What applications can your thesis have in the future?
Well, in my thesis, I explored the development of molecular-based hybrid materials for water oxidation. By studying surface-complex interactions and different anchoring strategies to immobilize molecular catalysts on various substrates, I aimed to bridge the gap between homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis. This fundamental understanding lays the groundwork for designing hybrid molecular electrodes that can be integrated into devices to produce green hydrogen from sunlight.
What advice do you have for someone who’s starting their PhD now?
Be patient, not everything will run smoothly. You will face problems, specially when something does not go as you expected, that’s the challenging time. Just believe that it’s a part of this journey, and you will figure it out. Always ask for help whenever you need.
Who/What has been your biggest influence/motivation?
I’d say Richard Feynman has been one of the biggest inspirations in my scientific career. His curiosity, clarity of thought, and unique way of understanding and explaining science have deeply influenced me and continue to motivate me today.
Where are you going next? What will you do there?
I will move to CEA, Grenoble, France for my post-doctoral study under Prof. Vincent Artero and Dr. Laurent Severy. There, I will be working on CO2 capture and reduction to produce fuel- the reduction side of Artificial Photosynthesis.
If you were a piece of lab equipment, what would you be?
I would like to be a glassy carbon (GC) electrode, a small but essential piece of lab equipment to study electrochemical processes. Over the past four years, I’ve spent countless hours working with it, witnessed lots of beautiful phenomena taking place on top of this tiny little surface, which became the heart of my thesis.
Tell us something about you that people might not know…
Apart from Science and Art, I have been engaged in writing a book on Life’s philosophy and connecting Spirituality to understand the world better. Hopefully, I will be able to publish it at some point.
La entrada সাফল্যের জন্য অভিনন্দন, Dr. Ranu! se publicó primero en ICIQ.