OVERVIEW:

Deepa’s research area broadly pertains to fabricating different materials via the selected hydrothermal, pyrolysis, thermochemical synthesis, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), impregnation methods and chemistry-based reactions. In terms of characterization, she has covered the characterization of these synthesized materials with modern techniques and in application terms, she has covered the environmental application of heavy metals, dyes, Pharmaceutical pollutants (PPCPs), plastic components, PFAS and PFCA s per-Perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids. In therm of application of instruments, Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) with OXFORD EDS, Make: Zeiss, Model: Sigma, Single Crystal X-ray Diffractometer, Make:Agilent, Model: Single source supernova E (Mo source), UV-Visible spectroscopy (Perkin Elmer 365 and 1050, Agilent Cary 60, JASCO), Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy, ICP-MS, Ion Chromatography, Total Organic Carbon Analyser, U-Vis spectroscopy, Fluorescence spectroscopy, Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS), Field Emission Transmission Electron Microscope (FETEM), Dynamic light scattering (DLS), Raman spectroscopy, VSM, Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Brunauer- Emmett-Teller (BET), and XPS are her best proficiency instrument.

She also learned the synthesis of nanoparticles via CVD process (chemical vapor deposition), phenolic beads, chemical and surface modification of biopolymer (Guar Gum and chitosan) for biomedical application, biomineralization process, hydrothermal synthesis of carbon dots, metal-organic framework, and surface modification of nanoparticles via chemistry-based reactions, modification of materials includes biochar, hydrochar and biochar production, composite synthesis and little bit knowledge of algal production. These nanoparticles are used for catalytic degradation of various environmental pollutants.

CURRENT ACTIVITIES:

She is currently focused on the production of biochar and other type of materials from waste materials and engineering these materials for the removal of emerging contaminants.

BACKGROUND:

Deepa completed her B.Tech and M.Tech in Biotechnology, specializing in the field from Vellore Institute of Technology and Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology (MNNIT) Allahabad, respectively. Her B.Tech research was conducted at Vellore Institute of Technology in Vellore, India, while her M.Tech research was carried out at MNNIT in Prayagraj, India. After her academic journey, she joined BIOZEEN (Bangalore Biotech Labs Pvt. Ltd) in Bangalore, India. There, she underwent comprehensive training in “Biopharmaceutical Production and Bioprocess Engineering” under the BCIL-BIPT Scheme (Biotech Consortium India Limited – Biotech Industrial Training Program), which is managed by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India.

Subsequently, she worked as a Project Engineer and Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Environmental Science and Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur. Under the mentorship of Dr. Nisith Verma and Dr. K. C. Gupta, she gained substantial experience in environmental science and engineering.

She was a PhD candidate (2017-2022) at the Centre for the Environment, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Assam, India. After this, she worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Seoul in the Department of Environmental Engineering from January 5th, 2023, to May 2024. She received her doctoral degree in June 2022 and, “Biomass-Derived Materials as Potential Adsorbents for Water Remediation” was her thesis title. As part of her Ph.D. thesis, nanomaterials synthesis from biological waste, their characterization and nanotechnology have been her research backbone along with different environmental application aspects. She has worked on developing low-cost nanomaterials and composite materials using different biomass and waste materials via thermochemical synthesis, hydrothermal method, and pyrolysis. We had also prepared carbon nanodots with the help of various waste materials for sensing of various pollutants. Each of the synthesized materials unveiled interesting characteristic properties which were exploited in the remediation of toxic environmental pollutants from the aqueous medium.

During her post-doctoral tenure, she worked on the synthesis of materials, characterization and their application in the wastewater treatment. She synthesized a heterojunction type of material, like gC3N4-MoS2, FeV3O8 Nano rods, hexapod pyrite, covalent organic framework based on biopolymer chitosan, and gC3N4-Cu metal organic framework composite materials and applied these materials for the degradation as well as adsorption of pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) degradation, plastic component, and PFCA s per- Perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids. During her post-doctoral experience, she learned photocatalytic degradation as well as advanced oxidation processes for pollutant degradation.