On 05/05/2018, the Minister of Science and Technology Chu Ngoc Anh has announced the list of three (03) winners of the scientific award Ta Quang Buu, including Doctor Tran Dinh Phong with the research about artificial leaf in order to limit CO2 emissions.
Dr. Tran Dinh Phong, Director of the Department of Fundamental and Applied Sciences, University of Science and Technology of Hanoi – USTH, was honored to be one of the two winners of the major category of the Ta Quang Buu Award in 2018. He is the author of the scientific work in the physics field entitled “Coordination polymer structure and revisited hydrogen evolution catalytic mechanism for amorphous molybdenum sulfide”.
Since the early 21st century, as clean energy has gradually become one of the most alarmed issues in the world, the research of artificial leaf, which is able to convert sunlight and water into hydrogen, is attracting numerous scientists. The catalyst for this chemical reaction is platinum, a rare and expensive material. The research of Dr. Phong and his collaborators has successfully demonstrated the structure and mechanism of amorphous molybdenum sulfide, an easy-to-fabricated, low-cost material as an alternative to platinum for the hydrogen evolution reaction from water.
Responding to the question of how the research ideas originated, Dr. Phong said he has been exposed to this promising research direction since late 2008 and has pursued it until now. “Natural leaves can be considered as a very special “factory”, where CO2 emissions are combined with water, converting solar energy into chemical energy stored in sugar molecules and then releasing oxygen. So, if we can “mimic” natural leaves in an artificial leaf, we can convert solar energy into chemical energy in fuels such as H2 or alcohol. This is a potential technology in addressing the need for clean energy,” he asserted.
Dr. Phong’s research is a considerable step in the “race” of finding solutions to clean energy and cutting CO2 emissions to the environment. In early 2016, the results of this important study were published in the journal Nature Materials, the world’s No.1 journal on materials science.
Sharing about the award that Dr. Phong received, Prof. Patrick Boiron, Rector of USTH, said: “The Ta Quang Buu Award that Phong has achieved this time has a great significance not only for his individual research career but also an honor for USTH. I am happy that an importance part of Phong’s research was done at USTH with the participation of the young students of the school.”
Being asked about future plan of USTH to support the research of the lecturers but also scientists, Prof. Patrick Boiron claimed: “We are always looking for young scientists, who are both passionate about research and ready to inspire our young generations, to work at USTH. With the dynamic working environment of an European-stanardized university and a strong network of partnerships, which are universities and research institutes in France, I believe that USTH is a fertile ground to flourish for scientific talents.”
The Ta Quang Buu Award is an award from the Ministry of Science and Technology, held annually to encourage and honor outstanding scientists on the basic sciences in particular, and on science as well as technology in general in Vietnam. and contributing to promoting Vietnam’s science and technology integration and development. The award has aided Vietnamese scientists to keep up with their international counterparts in the globalization. Organized for the first time in 2014, the award has attracted the attention and positive evaluation of managers and the scientific community.
The award ceremony is going to be held in Hanoi on the occasion of Vietnam Science and Technology Day on May 18.
