Smart materials, sensing and energy
Some materials do work on their own: a spring that shortens when it warms, a dye that changes colour with a molecule in the breath, a powder that uses light to break down pollution. The lab makes them and puts them to use in solar panels, health sensors and water treatment.
A panel that leans toward the heat
Sunflowers turn to follow the sun. A shape memory alloy spring can do the same for a solar panel, with no motor: it shortens when warmed and pulls the panel round. One, two or three springs were tested in parallel. Warm the springs and add more.
Two springs gave 60% more force than one, and their force hysteresis stayed small and close to that of a single spring.
Source: Discover Applied Sciences, 2024. Force ratios are the published results. The panel, the tilt angle and the link between temperature and tilt are drawn for illustration.
A colour test for ketones
People with type 1 diabetes can slip into ketoacidosis, and some heart and diabetes drugs can cause it without high blood sugar. Blood tests catch it. A breath test read by a phone could be faster and cheaper. Move the slider through the range the test covers.
Acetone in the breath rises when the body burns fat for fuel, which is how diabetic ketoacidosis shows up. A set of dyes changes colour with acetone and ethanol across 0.05 to 50 ppm, and a phone camera reads the colour as red, green and blue values.
Source: ACS Omega, 2022. The detection limits and range are from the paper. The colours and the values the phone shows are illustrative, not the dyes' real response.
Cleaning dyed water with light
Textile dyes are hard to remove from wastewater. A photocatalyst absorbs light and uses the energy to break dye molecules down. Pick a dye and switch on the light.
Zinc, copper and silver oxides grown together use light to break dye molecules apart. At pH 7, with 0.2 g of catalyst per litre and 25 ppm of dye, indigo carmine was almost entirely removed. Coated onto a small turbine and onto cloth, the catalyst still cleared about 90% of the four-dye mix.
Source: Scientific Reports, 2025. Percentages are the published removal for each dye; the colours are approximate and the time is compressed. A 2024 study did the same with reduced graphene oxide.
Sensors, films and coatings
A touch film you can see through
Reduced graphene oxide spread evenly through silicone with an ionic liquid made a stretchable touch sensor that lets about 70% of light through and responds about five times faster than without the liquid.
Glucose from sweat
Copper and nickel nanoparticles on porous carbon sensed glucose in 4 s across 0.005 to 0.45 mM, with a sensitivity of 11.7 mA mM⁻¹ cm⁻².
Dopamine without enzymes
A copper and magnesium oxide electrode found dopamine in artificial sweat down to 6.4 µM, with no cross-reaction from the other compounds in sweat.
A cooler solar panel
Paraffin wax with graphite and hydrogel conducted heat nearly 12 times better than plain wax. Coated on the back of a solar panel, it ran about 4 °C cooler.
Dyes cleared by sunlight
Zinc oxide with 4% aluminium removed 97% of indigo carmine and 99% of azo carmine G in 140 minutes of natural sunlight, faster than pure zinc oxide.
Power from a plant-based film
A biodegradable film with graphene-doped zinc oxide dots gave 0.24 V by contact, about five times the plain polymer, and a dielectric constant 22 times higher.
Copper in seawater
An iron oxide and expanded graphite electrode detected copper down to 0.14 ppb in untreated seawater and artificial urine.
Glowing microplastics
Carbon quantum dots stain microplastics so they clump and glow, making them visible in water at 0.005 ppm without lab instruments.
Papers and grants
50 papers
- 2025A prototype integrated approach for sustainable treatment of organic dyes system using ZnO–CuO–AgO heterostructure as photocatalyst
QUScientific Reports, 3 citations - 2025Revolutionizing microplastic detection in water through quantum dot fluorescence
QUJournal of Environmental Science and Health, Part A, 3 citations - 2025Bioinspired Synthesis of Lead Oxide Using Bougainvillea Flower Extract for Electrochemical Sensing of Iron (III) Ions in Aqueous Solutions
QUTopics in Catalysis, 2 citations - 2025Ultrasensitive electrochemical detection of trace copper using iron oxide—expanded graphite and its applications
QUIonics, 1 citation - 2025Innovative colorimetric approaches for sodium benzoate detection: methodological insights and quantification
QUJournal of Food Science and Technology - 2024Photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes using reduced graphene oxide (rGO)
QUScientific Reports, 154 citations - 2024A Facile Approach to Develop Polyvinyl Alcohol‐Based Bio‐Triboelectric Nanogenerator Containing Graphene‐ Doped Zinc Oxide Quantum Dots
QUEnergy Technology, 13 citations - 2024Characterization of water-controlled shape memory alloys for solar tracking applications
QUDiscover Applied Sciences, 3 citations - 2023Aluminium doped ZnO nanostructures for efficient photodegradation of indigo carmine and azo carmine G in solar irradiation
QUApplied Nanoscience, 63 citations - 2023Nonenzymatic electrochemical lactic acid sensor using CuO nanocomposite
QUMaterials Science and Engineering: B, 34 citations - 2023Revealing the improved sensitivity of PEDOT:PSS/PVA thin films through secondary doping and their strain sensors application
QURSC Advances, 22 citations - 2023Longitudinal Studies of Wearables in Patients with Diabetes: Key Issues and Solutions
QUSensors, 9 citations - 2023A practical perspective for chromatic orthogonality for implementing in photolithography
QUScientific Reports, 5 citations - 2023Fabrication of 3D-Printed Polyurethane Resin Composites and its Dielectric Performance
QUChemistry Africa, 1 citation - 2023Self-sanitizing reusable glove via 3D-printing and common mold making method
QUMaterials Today: Proceedings, 1 citation - 2023Green energy powered - vapor, thermal and UV light assisted disinfection technology
QUMaterials Today: Proceedings - 2022Sense and Learn: Recent Advances in Wearable Sensing and Machine Learning for Blood Glucose Monitoring and Trend-Detection
QUFrontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, 61 citations - 2022Breath Analysis for the In Vivo Detection of Diabetic Ketoacidosis
QUACS Omega, 36 citations - 20222D-MXene as an additive to improve the power conversion efficiency of monolithic perovskite solar cells
QUMaterials Letters, 27 citations - 2022Improvement of heat sink performance using paraffin/graphite/hydrogel phase change composite coating
QUCase Studies in Thermal Engineering, 17 citations - 2022A review on high performance photovoltaic cells and strategies for improving their efficiency
QUFrontiers in Energy, 5 citations - 2022Advances in 4D Printing of Shape-Memory Materials: Current Status and Developments
QUShape Memory Composites Based on Polymers and Metals for 4D Printing, 2 citations - 2022Combination of Shape-Memory Polymers and Metal Alloys
QUShape Memory Composites Based on Polymers and Metals for 4D Printing - 2021Nonenzymatic Electrochemical Sensor Based on CuO-MgO Composite for Dopamine Detection
QUIEEE Sensors Journal, 48 citations - 2021Comparison Study of Metal Oxides (CeO2, CuO, SnO2, CdO, ZnO and TiO2) Decked Few Layered Graphene Nanocomposites for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
QUSustainability, 45 citations - 2021Superior Non-Invasive Glucose Sensor Using Bimetallic CuNi Nanospecies Coated Mesoporous Carbon
QUBiosensors, 23 citations - 2020Progress of Advanced Nanomaterials in the Non-Enzymatic Electrochemical Sensing of Glucose and H2O2
QUBiosensors, 156 citations - 2020Development of In-Situ Sensors for CO2 to Fuel Process
QUUniversity of the Future: Re-Imagining Research and Higher Education, 3 citations - 2020Synthesis, characterization and biosensor applications of CuO-NiO nanocomposite
QUUniversity of the Future: Re-Imagining Research and Higher Education, 2 citations - 2020Construction of Modified CuO-Co3O4-ZnO Electrode for Acetone Detection in Breath
QUUniversity of the Future: Re-Imagining Research and Higher Education, 1 citation - 2020Biosensing Studies on Cuo-Mgo Nanocomposites for Glucose Detection
QUUniversity of the Future: Re-Imagining Research and Higher Education - 2020Detection of Acetone in Breath Solution using Nanocomposite Ceo2-Nio-Zno
QUUniversity of the Future: Re-Imagining Research and Higher Education - 2020Non-invasive Electrochemical Detection of Glucose using CuO-NiO/MXene Modified Electrode
QUUniversity of the Future: Re-Imagining Research and Higher Education - 2019Recent advances in mechanical properties of biopolymer composites: a review
QUPolymer Composites, 276 citations - 2019Synthesis, optimization and applications of ZnO/polymer nanocomposites
QUMaterials Science and Engineering: C, 276 citations - 2018Controlling the sensing performance of rGO filled PVDF nanocomposite with the addition of secondary nanofillers
QUSynthetic Metals, 30 citations - 2018A review on porous polymer composite materials for multifunctional electronic applications
QUPolymer-Plastics Technology and Materials, 19 citations - 2018Synthesis, green emission and photosensitivity of Al-doped ZnO film
QUMicrosystem Technologies, 16 citations - 2017Highly selective gas sensors from photo-activated ZnO/PANI thin films synthesized by mSILAR
QUSynthetic Metals, 54 citations - 2017Nanostructure ZnFe2O4 with Bacillus subtilis for Detection of LPG at Low Temperature
QUJournal of Electronic Materials, 29 citations - 2017Microton irradiation induced tuning of dielectric properties of nano ZnO–natural rubber disks
QUPolymer Bulletin, 7 citations - 2017A Fast Responsive Ultraviolet Sensor from mSILAR-Processed Sn-ZnO
QUJournal of Electronic Materials, 6 citations - 2017Biodegradable Nanocomposites for Energy Harvesting, Self-healing, and Shape Memory
QUSpringer Series on Polymer and Composite Materials, 4 citations - 2017Anti-spoofing device for biometric fingerprint scanners
QU2017 IEEE International Conference on Mechatronics and Automation (ICMA), 3 citations - 2017Effect of synthesis conditions on ZnO thin film photosensitivity via mSILAR technique
QU2017 IEEE 17th International Conference on Nanotechnology (IEEE-NANO) - 2016Reduced graphene oxide filled poly(dimethyl siloxane) based transparent stretchable, and touch-responsive sensors
QUApplied Physics Letters, 40 citations - 2016Microtron Irradiation Induced Tuning of Band Gap and Photoresponse of Al-ZnO Thin Films Synthesized by mSILAR
QUJournal of Electronic Materials, 25 citations - 2016NMR spectroscopy of polymer nanocomposites
QUSpectroscopy of Polymer Nanocomposites, 3 citations - 2015Electronic Applications of Polydimethylsiloxane and Its Composites
QUSpringer Series on Polymer and Composite Materials, 3 citations - 2013Effectiveness of student engagement pedagogies in a mechatronics module: A 4-year multi-cohort study
NUSAsian Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
Grants
- 2025Advancing Energy Harvesting and Sensor Development: Harnessing Auxetic and Complex Geometries with Optimized 3D Printing
US$29,518 · QRDI Council · Primary Research Mentor - 20223D PRInting of Smart MATerials with Antimicrobial Properties
US$150,720 · Qatar University · Principal Investigator - 2020UV Disinfection Robots in Public Spaces with Teleportation-based Control Schemes
US$27,937 · Qatar National Research Fund · Lead Principal Investigator - 2020Manipulating reusable and self-disinfecting gloves to prevent COVID-19 transmission and designing an e-dustbin for gloves and masks; Qatar National Research Fund Rapid Response Call, RRC-2-063; June-August 2020
US$16,483 · Qatar National Research Fund · Principal Investigator - 2020The Sunflower Effect: A Bio-Inspired Approach for Heat-Seeking 4D/3D Printed Solar Cells
US$599,640 · Qatar National Research Fund · Lead Principal Investigator - 2019Non-Invasive Monitor to Predict Hypoglycemia in Diabetes Patients
US$598,440 · Qatar National Research Fund · Principal Investigator