RSC Workshop On Green Chemistry and Water Treatment

Hindu College started with a humble beginning in 1899. Since then it has seen enviable growth over the years. Currently, it is not only one of the most distinguished co-educational institution of our country, but, is also the college of first choice in Delhi. It aims to deliver a perfect platform for academics, management, sports, ethics, and politics.
Chemistry Department
If Hindu College is one gargantuan establishment, this very high profile Chemistry Department is its very foundation. Ever since the birth of this premier establishment, the chemistry department has always helped enhance tits ever growing stature by providing meritorious students and well groomed citizens shining in almost every aspect of life. Complementing the Department’s academic excellence is the Chemistry society of Hindu College, popularly known as TATVA. With a clan of devoted educators and spirited students, the society has always striven to live up to its motto of ‘The Bond of Togetherness’. It provides a perfect platform to young scientific minds for outshining in not only academics but equally well in co-curricular activities.
Apart from classroom teaching, several of the faculty members are actively involved in research work and book publishing. The Department of Chemistry takes pride in housing four DU sponsored Innovation Projects in collaboration with the Departments of Botany, Physics and Zoology. Each project has ten under-graduate students actively involved in research work.

Green Chemistry Network Centre (GCNC) was established in the Department of Chemistry, University of Delhi under the recommendation of World Leaders in Green Chemistry headed by Professor Paul Anastas (known as the father of Green Chemistry) with the following aims and objectives:
 Build a Network for exchange of expertise, discussion and knowledge between industrialists and academics and between chemists and engineers with interests and expertise relevant to Green Chemistry.
 Prepare and disseminate the teaching materials on Green Chemistry for school, college and university levels, with the simultaneous design of laboratory experiments for these levels as well.
 Design trainings not just to expose the chemists to the concepts, principles and methodologies of Green Chemistry but also to empower them to bring this new knowledge back to their institution or industries.
 Promoting research by taking up Green Chemistry Research Projects from Industry and Government agencies.
GCNC received prestigious IUPAC CHEMRAWN GCI-DEN Grant Award for Green Chemistry Networking in India.
GCNC is well-known for its work in the area of green chemistry in India. GCNC has been actively involved in organizing several international conferences and workshops on crucial issues related to green chemistry. In fact, two International Workshops on Sustainability and Water Quality hosted by: ACS-Global Innovation Imperatives Gii were also organized in the years 2011 and 2014 aimed at finding sustainable and cost-effective solutions to global water quality challenges (https://www.acs.org/content/dam/acsorg/global/international/ACS- Gii%20Workshop%20Programme%20India%20January%202014.pdf ) Prof. Sharma’s (Coordinator GCNC) sincere efforts to popularize green chemistry have won him international fame and recognition. He has published numerous articles (papers as well as reviews) in some of the most reputed international journals such as Coordination Chemistry Reviews (Impact factor: 13.174), Green Chemistry (impact factor of 8.506), Catalysis Science & technology (Impact factor: 5.287), ChemCatChem (Impact factor: 4.734), Dalton Transactions (Impact factor: 4.197), ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering (Impact factor: 5.26) and many more. In fact, GCNC has previously written several chapters on Green Chemistry Solutions to Water Pollution, Water Quality Issues and Solutions in India, Green Materials for Metal Remediation in Water etc. in RSC Green Chemistry Series and Elsevier Publications. Recently, Professor Sharma’s review article entitled “Silica-nanosphere based organic-inorganic hybrid nanomaterials: synthesis, functionalization and applications in catalysis” was included in the themed online collection of Green Chemistry journal that features among the most downloaded articles in Green Chemistry in 2015.
The GCNC has been continuously working for sustainable and socio-economic solutions for the problems associated with metal contaminated wastewater. The integration of sustainability and solid phase extraction methodology has already been implemented in the form of silica based organic-inorganic hybrid materials for the recovery of heavy metals from different charged wastewaters. Moreover, a newly designed reactor with full automated modes has been developed for large scale, online, efficient and fast extraction of chromium from tannery waste using metal specific chelating polymer. Such technologies would certainly minimize water pollution and increasing its quality as industrial wastes containing organic solvents and metal contaminants make the water sources unfit for drinking and other human uses. Recently, Prof. Sharma’s group jointly with TERI developed a technology for metal remediation. This technology was demonstrated before US experts who visited during last ‘Water Quality workshop’ and it was well reported by ‘Times of India’ News Paper.