Dr. Prashant Kumar Sharma
Name: Dr. Prashant Kumar Sharma
Qualification: Doctorate
Designation: Research Scholar
Department: Environmental Science and Sustainable Development
Institute name: Environmental Science and Sustainable Development
College address: Institute of Environmental Science and Sustainable Development, Near Swatantrata Bhawan, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India
Award for: Research Excellence Award
Publication title: Journal
Paper Title: Examining dye degradation and antibacterial properties of organically induced α-MoO3 nanoparticles, their uptake and phytotoxicity in rice seedlings
Journal Name: Environmental Nanotechnology, Monitoring & Management
Volume: 14
Month of publication: May
Year: 2020
Page no.: 100315
ISSN: 2215-1532
About Dr. Prashant Kumar Sharma
Dr. Prashant Kumar Sharma has completed his Ph.D. in Environmental Science and
Technology from the Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development, Banaras
Hindu University (India). He has been working in areas of water and wastewater
treatment, emerging pollutants, nanoadsorbents, nano-photocatalysts, magnetic
nanoparticles, nanocomposites, ecotoxicology for more than 6 years. The aim of my
doctoral research was to develop an efficient nanomaterials for removal of different
pollutants. Core-shell type nanocomposites was prepared having a magnetic
nanoparticle CoMnFe 2 O 4 as core and was coated with shell of MoO 3 or MoS 2 or SnS 2 nanoparticles. These nanocomposites having size ranging from 4.1 to 23.79 nm showed efficient photocatalytic properties in visible range at a very small concentration 0.1 to 0.8 g/l. These photocatalytic nanocomposites were then used for dye degradation experiments showing 99% removal efficiency for both anionic as well as cationic dyes using visible LED light. These nanomaterials were also checked for their antibacterial effect on Gram –ve and Gram +ve bacteria and showed effective results in both plate method and broth method. For practical application the best performimg nanomaterials were tested for ecotoxicological studies. So, ecotoxicity studies of MoO 3 nanoparticles on Oryza sativa (cv. HUR 3022) at different concentrations for 10 days exposure were conducted. The studies suggest tissue specific distribution of nanomaterials in rice plants. The increased growth and elevated protein levels in rice seedlings at 100 ppm concentrations of nanoparticles imply a stimulation in the repair mechanism at low doses indicating hormesis. The high malondialdehyde levels and altered activities of antioxidant enzymes GPX, APX and CAT in rice seedlings exposed to MoO 3 indicate oxidative imbalance. The Bioconcentration Factor is >1 and Translocation Factor of 0.6-2.0 suggest MoO 3 to be environmentally safe for environmental applications. I look forward for commercial applications of environmentally safe nanomaterials in different
domains of environment and sustainable development.