2020 NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
December 25, 2020
Our group is in collaboration with Dr. Askhat Jumabekov's research group (Physics Department, SSH) and this collaboration has produced a new conference paper published in Materials Today: Proceedings which was a result of the presentation done during the International Conference on Nanomaterials and Advanced Energy Storage Systems (INESS) on August 6, 2020, held at Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. The paper is entitled "Silver nanowires network-based electrode for metal–semiconductor-metal perovskite solar devices". Kudos to Almaz and Marat on the job well done, and special thanks to Dr. Jumabekov for this opportunity to collaborate.
To read the full article, please click the link.
November 12, 2020
Dr. Mannix P. Balanay talked about the Bachelor of Science in Chemistry program, its current research activities, and internship opportunities.
Please click the link to listen to the recorded Instagram video.
September 10, 2020
We would like to congratulate Enoch Adotey, Ph.D. student in Science, Engineering and Technology who is co-supervised by Dr. Mehdi Amouie Torkmahalleh (SEDS) and Dr. Balanay for publishing a paper in Methods and Applications in Fluorescence (IOP) entitled "Zinc metal–organic framework with 3-pyridinecarboxaldehyde and trimesic acid as co-ligands for selective detection of Cr (VI) ions in aqueous solution". In this paper, they synthesized a luminescent Zn-MOF with 3-pyridinecarboxaldehyde and trimesic acid as ligand to act as a sensor to detect chromium ions in aqueous solution. They attained detection limits of 0.67 µM as CrO42- anion (35 ppb Cr(VI)) and 1.91µM as Cr2O72- anion (198 ppb Cr(VI)). It also has a very good selectivity when exposed to different cations and anions with a wide pH range of 2 to 10. This shows that their MOF could serve as a good luminescent sensor for CrO42- and Cr2O72- species.
Please click the link to read the full article.
September 3, 2020
We published an article in Chemical Communications (RSC) entitled "Nanostructured flower-shaped CuCo2S4 as a Pt-free counter-electrode for dye-sensitized solar cells". They demonstrated a solvothermally prepared cost-effective, mesoporous, and high surface area nanostructured flower-shaped CuCo2S4 counter-electrode for dye-sensitized solar cells. The new counter electrode exhibited comparable results with a traditional Pt-based counter electrode, 7.56% vs. 7.42%, respectively. The electrochemical analysis demonstrated superior electrocatalytic activity of the product, which was stable even after 6 months of aging.
Please click the link to read the full article.
August 1, 2020
We would like to congratulate Dr. BAKHYTZHAN BAPTAYEV for obtaining his Ph.D. in Science, Engineering, and Technology in June of 2020. His dissertation is entitled "Development of cost-effective components for dye-sensitized solar cells" was defended successfully on April 30, 2020, with the defense panel composed of Prof. Luis R. Rojas-Solórzano as the Director of PhD Studies in Science, Engineering and Technology, Prof. Stavros Poulopoulos as the internal examiner, and Prof. Jongwan Jung of Sejong University as the external examiner.
Dr. Baptayev started working with Dr. Balanay in 2017 and currently has published 5 peer-reviewed journals and 2 conference papers. He continues working at the fmc2 laboratory as a researcher. He is also connected with the National Laboratory of Astana.
March 5, 2020
We published an article in the Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A: Chemistry (Elsevier) entitled "Surface modification of TiO2 photoanodes with In3+ using a simple soaking technique for enhancing the efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells". In this paper, we applied a simple approach in the enhancement of the photovoltaic conversion efficiency using sol-gel method with InCl3 as the precursor. Different characterization techniques were utilized such as ultra-high-resolution field emission scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and high-resolution X-ray diffractometer to analyze the properties observed. Photovoltage decay analysis showed prolonged charge carrier lifetimes of In coated cells compared to bare electrode thus demonstrating the energy barrier effect of the In blocking layer. Photovoltaic measurements revealed 17.9 % improvement in cell efficiency for In coated cell relative to pristine TiO2 cell.
Please click the link to read the full article.
February 17, 2020
We would like to welcome ZHAMILYA ABILOVA for joining the fmc2 family as a research assistant. Zhamilya graduated with her M.Sc. in Medicinal Chemistry at Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China in 2019. He acquired his B.Sc. in Chemical Technology of Organic Substances, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty in 2016. She will be doing research on the project on "Flexible photoelectrochromic devices powered by tandem organic solar cells".