Dr. William Wilson Anku
Tuesday, 09 July 2019 14:21 | 
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Research Scientist Primary Email Address: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Alternate Email Address: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Mobile Numbers: +233547507987/+233577035326 Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=tK_Q8UQAAAAJ&hl=en ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/William_Wilson_Anku/research |
Profile
Dr William Wilson Anku is a Research Scientist at Water Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Ghana. He obtained his PhD Chemistry degree at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa in 2017, MSc Environmental Science degree in 2008 at Kwame Nkrumah University of science and technology (KNUST), Ghana, and BSc Chemistry degrees in 2003 also at KNUST. He did one-year postdoctoral research in the Applied Chemistry Department of the University of Johannesburg.
William has several years of teaching experience at the University and High school levels. He is an expert in nanomaterials synthesis and characterization. William also has experience in photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants in water and the use of nanoparticles for the removal/reduction of heavy metals in polluted water. He has supervised many masters and PhD students from universities within and outside of Ghana. He has also been serving as an external examiner for masters and PhD theses. He also reviews manuscripts for journals, and proposals for fellowship programmes.
Research Interests
His current research interests are heterogeneous catalysis and materials chemistry, with a particular focus on environmental issues. These interests encompass:
1. Nanomaterials/nanocomposites research:
Design of nanocomposites with unique structural and physical properties, and the assessment of their structure-property relationships.
2. Semiconductor photocatalysis:
Development and evaluation of photocatalytic properties of semiconductors, their structural and property characterization, and their practical application for environmental studies including photocatalytic removal of organic and inorganic pollutants from drinking water/ wastewater.
3. Application agro-industrial wastes derived materials in water treatment
Preparation and application of ion exchange and carbon-based materials derived from agro-industrial wastes for the removal of cations and anions from polluted groundwater and industrial wastewater.
Prizes, awards, fellowships
- Postdoctoral research fellowship: Faculty of Science, University of Johannesburg, 2018.
- PhD studentship: Faculty of Science, University of Johannesburg, 2015-2018.
- Students travel fund award: National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa, 2016.
- Best poster presenter at the 5th UJ Cross Faculty Symposium held at UJ-Bunting Road Campus, South Africa on 13th October 2015.
- Second best poster presenter at the 3rd conference on “Emerging Frontiers for Sustainable Water” held at the Protea Hotel Wanderers, in Johannesburg, South Africa from 3-5 August 2015.
LIST OF PUBLICATIONS
(a) Journal Papers
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1 |
2021 |
Obiri, Samuel, Gloria Addico, Saada Mohammed, Wilson William Anku, Humphry Darko, and Okrah Collins. Water quality assessment of the Tano Basin in Ghana: a multivariate statistical approach. Applied Water Science 11 (2021): 1-8. |
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2 |
2021 |
Oppong, Samuel Osei-Bonsu, Francis Opoku, William Wilson Anku, and Penny P. Govender. Insights into the complementary behaviour of Gd doping in GO/Gd/ZnO composites as an efficient candidate towards photocatalytic degradation of indigo carmine dye. Journal of Materials Science 56 (2021): 8511-8527. |
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3 |
2020 |
Ama Onoyivwe Monday, Khotso Khoele, William Wilson Anku, Suprakas Sinha Ray, Peter Ogbemudia Osifo, and David Jacobus Delport. Synthesis and Application of MnO2/Exfoliated Graphite Electrodes for Enhanced Photoelectrochemical Degradation of Methylene Blue and Congo Red Dyes in Water. Electrocatalysis.11 (2020): 413-421. |
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4 |
2020 |
Anku, William Wilson, Eric Selorm Agorku, Samuel Osei-Bonsu Oppong, and Anthony Yaw Karikari. "MWCNTs attached neodymium doped-ZnO photocatalysts for efficient removal of dyes from wastewater. SN Applied Sciences. 5 (2020): 1-13. |
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5 |
2020 |
Karikari Anthony Yaw, Asmah Ruby, Anku, William Wilson, Amisah Steve, Agbo Nelson Wheatson, Telfer C Trevor, Ross, Glenn Lindsay. Heavy Metal Concentrations and Sediment Quality of a Cage Farm on Lake Volta, Ghana. Aquaculture Research. 5 (2020): 2041-2051. |
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6 |
2020 |
Manyedi, Sechaba, William W. Anku, Ephraim M. Kiarii, and Penny P. Govender. Thermoelectric, Electronic, and Optical Response of Nanostructured Al?doped ZnO@ 2D?TiC Composite. ChemistrySelect 5 (2020): 13144-13154. |
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7 |
2020 |
Renu Kumari, Adeniyi Olugbenga Osikoya Adeniyi Olugbenga Osikoya, Francis Opoku, William Wilson Anku, Sudheesh Kumar Shukla, and Penny Poomani Govender. Composite 2D Nanointerfaces for Electrochemical Biosensing: An Experimental and Theoretical Study. ACS Applied Biomaterials. 12 (2020): 8676-8687. |
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8 |
2019 |
Onoyivwe Monday Ama, William Wilson Anku, Suprakas Sinha Ray. Photoelectrochemical degradation of methylene blue dye under visible light irradiation using EG/Ag-ZrO2 nanocomposite electrodes. International Journal of Electrochemical Science. 14 (2019) 9982-10001. |
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9 |
2019 |
Onoyivwe Monday Ama, Khotso Khoele, William Wilson Anku, Suprakas Sinha Ray. Photoelectrochemical Degradation of 4-Nitrophenol using CuOZnO/exfoliated graphite Nanocomposite Electrode. International Journal of Electrochemical Science. 14 (2019) 2893 – 2905. |
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10 |
2019 |
Ndaba, Nokuthula, Marthe Carine Fotsing, William Wilson Anku, and Penny Poomani Govender. In vitro and in silico studies of the antifungal properties of the bulb and leaves extracts of Drimia delagoensis Baker (Jessop). Advances in Traditional Medicine, (2019): 1-7. |
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11 |
2019 |
Samuel Osei-Bonsu Oppong, Francis Opoku, William Wilson Anku, Ephraim Muriithi Kiarii, Penny Poomani Govender. Experimental and Computational Design of Highly Active Ce–ZrO2–GO Photocatalyst for Eosin Yellow Dye Degradation: The Role of Interface and Ce3+ Ion. Catalysis Letters. (2019) 1-18. |
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12 |
2019 |
Renu Kumari, Adeniyi Olugbenga Osikoya, Francis Opoku, William Wilson Anku, Sudheesh Kumar Shukla, Penny Govender. Hierarchically assembled Two-dimensional Gold-Boron Nitride-Tungsten Disulphide nanohybrid interface system for electrobiocatalytic applications. Materials chemistry and physics, 226 (2019) 129-140. |
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13 |
2019 |
Madima Ntakadzeni, William Wilson Anku, Penny Poomani Govender, Leelakrishna Reddy. Mo3S4 nanorod: An effective photocatalyst for the degradation of organic dyes in aqueous solution. Recent innovations in chemical engineering, 12 (2019) 61-9. |
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14 |
2019 |
Madima Ntakadzeni, William Wilson Anku, Neeraj Kumar, Penny Poomani Govender, Leelakrishna Reddy. Pegylated MoS2 nanosheets: A dual functional photocatalyst for photodegradation of organic dyes and photoreduction of chromium from aqueous solution. Bulletin of Chemical Reaction Engineering & Catalysis, 14 (2019) 142-152. |
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15 |
2018 |
S. O.B. Oppong, W. W. Anku, F. Opoku, S. K. Shukla, E. S. Agorku and P. P. Govender. Photodegradation of Eosin Yellow Dye in Water under Simulated Solar Light Irradiation using La-Doped-ZnO Nanostructure Decorated on Graphene Oxide as an Advanced Photocatalyst. ChemistrySelect 3 (2018) 1180-1188. |
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16 |
2018 |
W. W. Anku, S. K. Shukla and P. P. Govender. Graft gum ghatti caped Cu2O nanocomposite for photocatalytic degradation of naphthol blue black dye. Journal of Inorganic and Organometallic polymers and Materials (2018) 1540-1551. |
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17 |
2018 |
C.N. Peter, W. W. Anku, R. Sharma, G. M. Joshi, S. K. Shukla, P. P. Govender. N-doped ZnO/graphene oxide: a photo-stable photocatalyst for improved mineralization and photodegradation of organics dye under visible light. IONICS (2018) 327-339. |
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18 |
2018 |
C.N. Peter, W. W. Anku, S. K. Shukla, P. P. Govender. Theoretical studies of the Interfacial charge transfer and the effect of vdW correction on the interaction energy of non-metal doped ZnO and graphene oxide interface. Theoretical Chemistry Accounts 137 (2018) 75-84. |
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19 |
2018 |
Renu Kumari, Adeniyi Olugbenga Osikoya, William Wilson Anku, Sudheesh Kumar Shukla, Penny Poomani Govender. Hierarchically assembled two-dimensional hybrid nanointerfaces: A platform for bioelectronic applications. Electroanalysis. Electroanalysis 30 (2018) 2339-2348. |
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20 |
2017 |
W. W. Anku, S. O. B. Oppong, S. K. Shukla, E. S. Agorku, and P. P. Govender. Cobalt doped ZrO2 decorated multiwalled carbon nanotube: A promising nanocatalyst for photodegradation of indigo carmine and eosin Y dyes. Progress in Natural Science: Materials International 26 (2017) 354-361. |
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21 |
2017 |
S. O. Oppong, W. W. Anku, S. K. Shukla and P. P. Govender. Synthesis and characterisation of neodymium doped-zinc oxide–graphene oxide nanocomposite as a highly efficient photocatalyst for enhanced degradation of indigo carmine in water under simulated solar light. Research on Chemical Intermediates 43 (2017) 481-501. |
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22 |
2016 |
W W Anku, S. O. B Oppong, S K Shukla and P P Govender.Comparative photocatalytic degradation of monoazo and diazo dyes under simulated visible light using Fe3+/C/S doped-TiO2 nanoparticles. Acta Chimica Slovenica 63 (2016) 380-391. |
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23 |
2016 |
W. W. Anku, S. O. B. Oppong, S. K. Shukla, E. S. Agorku, and P. P. Govender. Chitosan–sodium alginate encapsulated Co-doped ZrO2–MWCNTs nanocomposites for photocatalytic decolorization of organic dyes. Research on Chemical Intermediates 42 (2016) 7231–7245. |
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24 |
2016 |
W. W. Anku, S. O. B. Oppong, S. K. Shukla, E. S. Agorku, and P. P. Govender. Palladium-doped–ZrO2–multiwalled carbon nanotubes nanocomposite: an advanced photocatalyst for water treatment. Applied Physics A 122 (2016) 579-587. |
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25 |
2016 |
W W Anku, S. O. B Oppong, S K Shukla and P P Govender. Influence of ZnO concentration on the optical and photocatalytic properties of Ni-doped ZnS/ZnO nanocomposite. Bulletin of Materials Science 39 (2016) 1745-1752. |
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26 |
2016 |
S. O. B. Oppong, W. W. Anku, S. K. Shukla, E. S. Agorku and P. P. Govender. Photocatalytic degradation of indigo carmine using Nd-doped TiO2-decorated graphene oxide nanocomposites. Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology 80 (2016) 38–49. |
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27 |
2016 |
M. Mzoughi, W. W. Anku, S. O. Oppong, S. K. Shukla, E. S. Agorku and P. P. Govender. Neodymium Doped ZrO2-graphene Oxide Nanocomposites: A Promising Photocatalyst For Photodegradation Of Eosin Y Dye. Advanced Materials Letters 7 (2016) 946-950. |
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28 |
2016 |
S. O.B. Oppong, W. W. Anku, K. S. Shukla and P. P. Govender. Lanthanum doped-TiO2 decorated on graphene oxide nanocomposite: A photocatalyst for enhanced degradation of Acid Blue 40 under simulated solar light. Advance Materials Letters 8 (2016) 432-438. |
(b) Refereed book chapters
- William W. Anku, Messai A Mamo and Penny P Govender. Phenolic compounds in water: sources, reactivity, toxicity and treatment methods. InTechOpen. In book: Phenolic Compounds-Natural Sources, Importance and Applications. pp. 420-443, 2017.
- William W. Anku, Samuel OB Oppong and Penny P Govender. Bismuth-based nanoparticles as photocatalytic materials. InTechOpen. In book: Bismuth: Advanced Applications and Defects Characterization. pp 25-44, 2018.
- William W. Anku, Ephraim M Kiarii, Sudheesh K Shukla, and Penny P Govender. Photocatalytic degradation of pharmaceuticals using graphene based materials. Springer, Cham. In book: A New Generation Material Graphene: Applications in Water Technology. pp 187-208, 2018.
- Anku, William Wilson, Onoyivwe Monday Ama, Suprakas Sinha Ray, and Peter Ogbemudia Osifo. Application of Modified Metal Oxide Electrodes in Photoelectrochemical Removal of Organic Pollutants from Wastewater. Springer, Cham. In book: Nanostructured Metal-Oxide Electrode Materials for Water Purification, pp. 151-166, 2020.
- Khoele, Khotso, Onoyivwe Monday Ama, Ikenna Chibuzor Emeji, William Wilson Anku, Suprakas Sinha Ray, David Jacobus Delport, and Peter Ogbemudia Osifo. Dynamic Degradation Efficiency of Major Organic Pollutants from Wastewater. Springer, Cham, In book: Nanostructured Metal-Oxide Electrode Materials for Water Purification, pp. 1-18, 2020.
Last Updated (Monday, 04 March 2024 13:03)