On Wednesday (24/4), FMIPA UI officially appointed two new full professors in the field of chemistry: Prof. Dr. Yoki Yulizar, M.Sc., and Prof. Dr. Ivandini Tribidasari Anggraningrum, S.Si., M.Si. Both were inaugurated as full professors of FMIPA UI in a ceremony led by the Chair of the UI Academic Senate, Prof. Nachrowi Djalal, M.Sc., M.Phil., Ph.D., at the UI Hall, Depok Campus.
In his inauguration speech titled “Enhancing Nanomaterial Performance through Interfacial Chemical Modification,” Prof. Dr. Yoki Yulizar explained that the growing human demands have led to increased industrial activity, which in turn produces more waste. Some of the toxic and hazardous wastes include heavy metal ions, dyes, polymers, and detergents. Heavy metal ions are particularly dangerous because they can affect human health and contaminate water even at very low concentrations.
“If accumulated in large amounts, heavy metal ions can cause damage to the bodies of living organisms,” he explained.
He mentioned that many methods have been developed to reduce and eliminate waste, such as chemical precipitation, solvent extraction, electrochemical methods, ion exchange using microorganisms, compound conversion and degradation, as well as adsorption using biomaterials, zeolites, and clays.
In this research, Prof. Yoki presented a method of modifying the surface of support materials using metal-type nanoparticles, metal oxides, ligands, polymers, surfactants, or other complex compounds to form nanocomposites.
Through the two modification methods he studied, the resulting materials were nanocomposites with high performance, making them a practical solution for industrial applications to help reduce wastewater problems.
Next, Prof. Ivandini delivered her inauguration speech titled “Electrically Conductive Diamond as a Superior Material for Health Monitoring, Environmental Management, and Energy Supply.”
For centuries, natural diamonds have been known as a form of currency, cutting tools, and jewelry. This is due to their characteristics as a highly stable material with exceptional hardness and, of course, their beauty. However, diamonds are known to be electrically insulating, which means they cannot be used as electrodes in electrochemical systems.
The advancement of diamond synthesis technology has made it possible to modify diamonds with other particles so that electrically conductive diamonds can be produced. One of the most popular methods is boron doping.
The use of boron-doped diamond (BDD) as an electrode has become popular due to its superior properties, including low background current, wide working potential, and high stability. These characteristics make BDD suitable as a sensitive, durable, and biocompatible sensor and detector. Beyond sensing applications, BDD is also ideal for waste management, as electrolysis using BDD has been proven effective in converting organic compounds into CO₂ and H₂O while minimizing the formation of harmful intermediate compounds. Furthermore, the energy potential of BDD has been demonstrated through its applications in batteries, supercapacitors, and fuel cells.
