A UST professor’s research on composite materials for energy storage has won for her a top government award.
Christina Binag, a resident researcher at the Research Center for the Natural and Applied Sciences, was awarded for her significant contributions in the field of electro-synthesis of materials and conducting polymers, surface characterization, and nanomaterials during the 2013 Ten Outstanding Researchers Award of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST)—National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP) in their annual General Membership Assembly last March 26.
NRCP is an organization composed of highly skilled Filipino scientists and researchers. It has 13 scientific divisions focusing on a particular field of science, with each division choosing a recipient of the prestigious award from a pool of scientists.
Binag, who is a professor from the College of Science where she also earned her bachelor’s degree in Chemistry, was recognized under the Chemical Sciences Division, of which she was also elected as the new chairperson.
“It is very humbling and it really is an honor,” said Binag, adding that the previous recipients of the award are “gurus” in the field of Chemistry like her former mentor Fortunato Sevilla III, who pioneered the field of chemical sensors and biosensors in the country.
Also a recipient of the Outstanding Young Scientist title in 2001, Binag said bearing the Thomasian name as she received the DOST-NRCP award was a blessing for her and the University.
Saving energy
For the past 10 years, Binag and her team have been studying composite materials as a possible energy storage device.
“We are looking for composite materials based on conducting polymers, which can be made into nanomaterials as possible energy storage device and possible composite sensors,” she said.
Composite materials consist of separate interconnected parts that act differently than their individual parts. It is like putting together simple machines to make something that is more complex, like how a scissor is made of a wedge and a screw.
A conducting polymer is a chemical compound made up of two or more molecules arranged in a simple repeating structure to form a larger molecule that can conduct electricity.
Binag focused on supercapicitors, which are good examples of composite materials which usually work in tandem with batteries to slow down the release of energy from the battery, maximizing its stored energy.
This can be used as an energy source for simple medical devices, especially, for those in the field or remote areas.
“Our research work is geared towards the priority areas of DOST [which are] harnessing and storing energy, [and] nanotechnology,” she said.
Dedication
Adding knowledge in the scientific community has been Binag’s inspiration for continuing research.
“[Research] is like an investigative work,” Binag said. “The more you look in for clues, the more exciting it gets. The more you find out about a simple thing, you get more interested to dig deeper.”
Binag advised young researchers and students to never stop questioning and compared them with how we are as kids—full of curiosity and wonder.
”When they have something, they don’t just take it as is. You just have to question,” she said. “An inquisitive mind and nimble hands are good characteristics of a researcher to be.”
