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Dr. Bismark Mensah BSc (Ghana), MSc/PhD (South Korea)

Dr. Bismark Mensah BSc (Ghana), MSc/PhD (South Korea)
Senior Lecturer
bismarkmensah@ug.edu.gh

Academic Qualifications

  • PhD (Polymer Engineering: Polymer- nano-Science and Technology),  Chonbuk National University-2016
  • MSc. (Polymer Engineering: Polymer Nano-Science and Technology), Chonbuk National University-2011
  • BSc (Materials Science and Engineering: Ceramic option): University of Ghana, Legon-2011

Awards

  • Certificate award for best oral presentation during Nanotech France 2016 and joint International conference: EGF 2016, nanoMatEn 2016 and NanoMetrology 2016.
  • Best/top graduating MSc and PhD Scholar (South Korea, 2014-2016).
  • Certificate award for participation in International Rubber Conference (IRC) 2015.
  • Honored as best Graduating Student of Materials Science and Engineering Department, Legon (2011).
  • Dean’s List of Honor for Excellent and outstanding students in the Faculty of Engineering, University of Ghana, Legon (2011).

Research Interest

Intelligent Polymer Nano-materials Research Group (IPNRG)

Intelligent Polymer Nanomaterial Research Lab (IPNRG) is a new Nano-material Research Lab which focuses on Polymer nanomaterial’s synthesis, characterizations and applications. IPNRG is poised to be one of the key research core of University of Ghana, and the lead Polymer research point of excellence for the Material Science and Engineering Department. IPNRG is led by Bismark Mensah (Ph.D), an internationally recognized Polymer-Nano-Scientist and Technologist. Dr. Mensah is one of the few Scientist/technologist who started and still; pursuing Elastomeric-Graphene research. IPNRG has mother research collaborators in South Korea and expected to establish more collaboration locally and internationally.
IPNRG is specialized in synthesis and characterization of Polymer-nanomaterial for advanced applications;

  • Polymers for electronics: Electrodes, Soft polymers for artificial muscles, soft robotics, actuators, and dielectric materials etc.
  • Polymers for energy harvesting/storage: Solar cells and batteries
  • Polymers for medical/health sector: Biomaterials and Biodegradable polymers
  • Polymers for structural applications: Green tire, gaskets, rubber dampers, and oil seals etc. (used in building, roads, automobile/aerospace, oil and gas sectors etc).
  • Polymer-Nano-material Characterizations: Techniques involve; XRD, FT-IR, Raman spectra, SEM, TEM, DSC and TGA etc.

Weblink:

Current Research/Project

  • Polymer-Nanocomposites for advanced applications (IPNRG)

The emergence carbon based fillers (NCF) such as graphene and carbon nanotubes etc. have sparkled a new research in Polymer Nano-science and Technology. The combination of NCF with various Polymer matrices has been anticipated for many advanced applications. This is due to the unique properties (light-weight, electrically conductive, excellent mechanical strength, and flexibility etc.) of NCF. However; there are many challenges in this area which need to be addressed in order to achieve their full potentials. Some of the challenges include; 
• The self-aggregation tendency of NCF that leads to challenges in dispersions/coatings.
• The NCF shows unreliable interactions and adhesion with polymer matrix.
• NCF exhibits controversies in the curing kinetics of Polymer-NCF based nanocomposites. It is reported that NCF decreases curing speed, whilst others still argues that NCF rather increases the curing speed of polymers. Therefore, the current project is spearheaded to address some of these critical issues in Polymer-NCF composites and to fabricate Polymer-NCF materials that could find many uses in electrical/electronics, Structural/mechanical, and heat/thermal sinks  for automobile, aerospace, building, road construction technologies, oil/gas industries (for oil recoveries/spillages) and water treatment etc.

  • Photocatalytic-Dispersant, and Photocatalyst-Sorbent Systems for Oil Spill Remediation (BANGA AFRICA PROJECT-II).

This project is focused on developing combined effect of Photocatalytic-Dispersant and Photocatalyst-Sorbent systems that has the potential of minimising the effect of oil spills on aquatic species and clean-up workers and also reducing the remediation cost.

  • Development of a Novel Thermal Self-regulating Plasmonic Applicator for Multimodal Interstitial Cancer Treatment (BANGA AFRICA PROJECT-II)

Popular techniques such as radiofrequency (RFA) or microwave (MWA) suffer from technical difficulties that limit their use. It is therefore an objective of this current project to develop and evaluate the feasibility of a laser-based applicator for multimodal (heat + drugs) therapy.

Past Research/Projects

  • Elastomeric-based nanocomposites for advanced application (March 2012-August 2016) Funded by BK 21 plus heptic polymer research through Chonbuk National University (CBNU), South Korea.
  • Elastomer-Graphene for advanced applications (March 2014-August 2016) Funded by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (NRF-2016R1D1A3B03932709), via CBNU, South Korea
  • • Development of water-swellable electrode for detecting underground leaking voltages ( 2016-2019). Funded by KEPCO, Korean electrical power corporation through YUNTECH CO.LTD

Recent Publications

  1. Bismark Mensah, Dinesh Kumar, Dong-Kwon Lim, Seung Gyeom Kim, Byeong-Heon Jeong and Changwoon Nah, Preparation and properties of acrylonitrile-butadiene reinforced graphene rubber nanocomposites. Journal of Applied Polymer Science 132(36) · June 2015. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/app.42457.
  2. Bismark Mensah, Han Gil Kim, Jong-Hwan Lee, Sivaram Arepalli & Changwoon Nah, Carbon nanotube-reinforced elastomeric nanocomposites: A review, International Journal of Smart and Nano Materials, 6:4, 211-238. https://doi.org/10.1080/19475411.2015.1121632.
  3. Bismark Mensah, Sungjin Kim, Sivaram Arepalli, Changwoon Nah. A Study of Graphene Oxide-Reinforced Rubber Nanocomposite. Journal of Applied Polymer Sciences, 131,40640 (2014).https://doi.org/10.1002/app.40640.
  4. Bismark Mensah, Sungjin Kim, Dae Hak Lee, Han Gil Kim, Jong Gab Oh, and Changwoon Nah, Autohesion Behavior of Brominated-Isobutylene-Isoprene Gum Nanocomposites with Layered Clay, Elastomers and Composites, Vol. 49, No. 1, pp. 43~52 (2014). http://dx.doi.org/10.7473/EC.2014.49.1.43.
  5. Bismark Mensah, Prof. KC Gupta, Hakhyun Kim, Wonseok Kim, Kwang-Un Jeon, Changwon Nah. Graphene-Reinforced Elastomeric Nanocomposites: A Review. Journal of Polymer Testing. Volume 68, July 2018, Pages 160-184, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymertesting.2018.04.009
  6. Bismark Mensah and Changwoon Nah, effect of graphenes on polar and non-polar rubber matrices; Journal of Mechanics of Advanced Materials and Modern Processes, https://doi.org/10.1186/s40759-017-0034-0.
  7. Bismark Mensah and Changwoon Nah, Gold-functionalized Graphene-oxide-reinforced Acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber nanocomposites for piezoelectric and piezoresistive applications, journal of Carbon Letters, Vol. 25, 1-13 (2018), http://dx.doi.org/ DOI:10.5714/CL.2018.25.001.
  8. Bismark Mensah and Abu Yaya et al. Preparation and Characterization of Rubber Blends for Industrial Tire Tread Fabrication. International Journal of Polymer Science Volume 2018, ArticleID 2473286, 12 pages, https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/2473286.
  9. Bismark Mensah and Changwoon Nah et al. A comparative study on vulcanization behavior of acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber reinforced with graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide fillers. Polymer Testing ,Volume 76, July 2019, Pages 127-137, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymertesting.2019.01.026.
  10. Yang Il Huh, Bismark Mensah, Sungjin Kim, Hong Ki Lee, and Changwoon Nah, Effects of Plasma Treatment on Mechanical Properties of Jute Fibers and Their Composites with Polypropylene. Elastomers and Composites, Vol. 47, No. 4, pp. 310~317 (December 2012). doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.7473/EC.2012.47.4.310.
  11. Changwoon Nah, Jaeho Oh, Bismark Mensah, Kwang-Un Jeong, Dae Up Ahn, Seong-Jin Kim, Yonghoon Lee, Sang-Ho Nam. Effects of Thermal Aging on Degradation Mechanism of Flame Retardant-Filled Ethylene–Propylene–Diene Termonomer Compounds. Journal of Applied Polymer Sciences. 41324, (2014). https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/app.41324
  12. Sungjin Kim, Jaeho Ho, Jehong Lee, Bismark Mensah, and Changwoon Nah, Preparation and Performance of Bubble-Type Actuator for Braille Display, Advanced Materials Research, Vols.875-877, pp. 1516-1519, 2014. https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.875-877.1516
  13. Jaeho Oh, Dae-Up Ahn, Kwang-Un Jeong, Bismark Mensah, and Changwoon Nah, Lifetime Prediction of Thermally Aged Flame retardant-EPDM rubber Compounds. Polymer (Korea), Vol.39, No. 5, pp. 795-800 (2015). DOI : 10.7317/pk.2015.39.5.795.
  14. Changwoon Nah, Seung Gyeom Kim, Gopi Sathi Shibulal, Yong Hwan Yoo, Bismark Mensah, Byeong-Heon Jeong, Bo Ki Hong, Jou-Hyeon Ahn, Effects of Curing Systems on the Mechanical  and Chemical Ageing Resistance Properties of Gasket Compounds Based on Ethylene-Propylene-Diene-Termonomer Rubber in a Simulated Fuel Cell. Environment, International Journal of
  15. Hydrogen Energy, Volume 40, Issue 33, 7 September 2015, Pages 10627-10635. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2015.07.003.
  16. Ebenezer Annan, Benjamin Agyei-Tuffour, Lucas N. W. Damoah, David S. Konadu and Bismark Mensah. Physico-Mechanical Properties of Bauxite Residue-Clay Bricks, ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences, VOL. 7, NO. 12, DECEMBER (2012). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262600692_Physicomechanical_pro....
  17. Emmanuel Nyankson, Benjamin Agyei-Tuffour, Ebenezer Annan, AbuYaya, Bismark Mensah, Boateng Onwona-Agyeman, Reuben Amedalor, Benson Kwaku-Frimpong, Johnson Kwame Efavi, Ag2CO3-halloysite nanotubes composite with enhanced removal efficiency for water soluble dyes, Journal of Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 6, June 2019,-01969 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2019-01969.
  18. E. Nyankson, Benjamin Agyei-Tuffour, Jonas Adjasoo, Annan Ebenezer, David Dodoo-Arhin, Abu Yaya, Bismark Mensah and J. K. Efavi, Synthesis and Application of Fe-Doped TiO2-Halloysite Nanotubes Composite and Their Potential Application in Water Treatment, Advances in Materials Science and Engineering, article number 4270310 (accepted 11/16/2019).
  19. R.B. Asamoah, A. Yaya, B. Mensah, P. Nbalayim, V. Apalangya, Y.DBensah, L.N.W. Damoah, B. Agyei-Tuffour, D. Dodoo-Arhin, E. Annan, Synthesis and characterizationof zinc and copper oxide nanoparticles and their antibacteria activity Results in Materials,  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rinma.2020.100099. 
  20. R. B. Asamoah,E. Annan, B. Mensah, P. Nbelayim,V. Apalangya,B. Onwona-Agyeman, and A. Yaya. A Comparative Study of Antibacterial Activity of CuO/Ag and ZnO/Ag Nanocomposites, Advances in Materials Science and EngineeringVolume 2020, Article ID 7814324, 18 pages https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/7814324.