Michael Baah Mensah

Faculty Biography

Michael Baah Mensah is a Physical Chemist with a specialty in Nanotechnology and Biofuels. He joined the Department of Chemistry at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi in 2020. He obtained his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the same university through the DFID-Royal Society Africa Capacity Building Initiative program funded by UKAID, UK, and had research experience from the research consortium consisting of KNUST, University of Manchester, UK, University of Zululand, South Africa, and University of Yaounde 1, Cameroon. He had his MPhil and BSc Chemistry degrees also from KNUST.His area of research is in two parts: firstly, his focus is to develop synthetic and efficient routes for the synthesis of nanostructured materials (nanoparticles, nanocrystals, quantum dots) for applications in water treatment. He has expertise in the synthesis of metal oxide, metal sulfide, and doped nanoparticles. He is interested in the adsorption of water pollutants at nanoparticle surfaces and seeks to develop efficient nano-adsorbent materials. He currently holds a Royal Society-Leverhulme Africa Postdoctoral Fellowship Grant Award, £47,655.35 to develop nanomaterials to decontaminate water polluted with heavy metals (such as mercury) through anthropogenic activities (e.g. mining).Secondly, he is interested in nano-catalysis (i.e. the use of nanoparticles to catalyze reactions). He has expertise in the synthesis of biodiesel and he seeks to advance the production of biodiesel using nanotechnology.He believes in interdisciplinary approach and the fact that academia work in close link with industrial players to tackle pertinent problems, especially in developing countries.He teaches Basic Physical Chemistry: Thermodynamics, thermochemistry, and chemical kinetics at the undergraduate level. He is passionate about developing the capacity of young people to apply knowledge in Chemistry to solve real-life problems. He likes to mentor and motivates young people in their journey of building their desired careers.