Today (11/08/2015) starting from 10.00 a.m., Nanik Astuti Rahman presented her doctoral dissertation openly. The presentation was led by Prof. Arief Widjaja. The promotor and co-promotor were Prof. Heru Setyawan and Dr. Sri Rachmania Juliastuti, respectively. The examiners were Prof. Ali Altway (ITS), Dr. Samsudin Affandi (ITS) and Dr. Agus Purwanto (UNS). Nanik Astuti Rahman has been successfully defended her doctoral dissertation in front of scientific community and public and deserves to be granted a doctor degree from ITS.
Nanik talked about the synthesis of silica gel with controlled pore structure from bagasse ash and its application for carbon dioxide adsorbent. Briefly, the pore structure of silica gel was controlled by either, without or with, the use of polyethylene glycol (PEG) template. The use of PEG template increased significantly the surface area and pore volume of silica gel, especially if the PEG was removed by solvothermal extraction. To enhance the adsorption capacity and selectivity to carbon dioxide, the surface of silica gel was modified with amine group. It can be carried out using either post-grafting or in situ grafting methods. It is apparent that in situ grafting provided better results in term of the amount of amine grafted on the silica surface. The greater the amount of amine grafted, the higher the adsorption capacity to carbon dioxide is.
Part of her works has been published in the Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects. She will return back to Institut Teknologi Nasional – Malang after her graduation, the institute where she belongs to before as a lecturer.
Elkimkor 