(3ag) Rational Design of Functional Porous Materials and Membranes for Applications in Separation Science

Through my academic career at various universities and institutes, I have acquired a unique perspective in understanding and developing cutting-edge materials and have been exposed to various research areas, including chemical engineering, materials engineering, inorganic chemistry, polymer science and membrane technology. My research is highly interdisciplinary but focuses primarily on the rational design and synthesis of unconventional functional porous materials and membranes, in order to provide specific fundamental insights into the molecular engineering field and exploit applications in separation science. I plan to harness my unique expertise in materials engineering to establish a research program promoting the progress in these two fields: functional porous materials and composite membranes.

Functional porous materials such as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), covalent organic frameworks (COFs) and porous organic cages have recently revolutionized the field of materials science. Their ‘made-to-order’ design means that their applications are nearly boundless where the characteristics of their pores in terms of size, geometry and chemical functionality can determine how they can be employed. Composite membranes are also used to tackle the need for bulk performance or properties that cannot be accomplished using a single component. Using several components in the membrane fabrication can engender the same membrane with several properties at once such as good mechanical properties, high permeability and superb selectivity. The control over the properties of the composite membranes makes them promising candidates that can significantly advance chemical process technology by replacing decades-old distillation and absorption-based processes. My group will aim to develop novel functional materials and membranes that exhibit cost-reduction, eco-friendly practices, radical improvements in performance over existing state-of-the-art materials and membranes, and potentially revolutionizing the current technologies involve applications on: (1) Nuclear Waste Management; (2) Production of Synthetic Fuels, (3) Hydrocarbon Separations, (4) Recovery and Separation of Rare Earth Elements, (4) Environmental Conservation and (5) Materials Manufacturing.

In addition to the above directions, due to the interdisciplinary nature of my research work, I look forward to establishing a strong and active collaboration with fellow faculty in science and engineering to explore new opportunities at the interface of chemical engineering, chemistry, biology physics and materials science.

Scholarly Achievements:

• Citations: 879, h-index: 17, i10-index: 21, total publications: 28
• Peer-Reviewed Research Articles: 25 published, and 4 in preparation (6 as a corresponding author, 19 as a first author)
• Peer-Reviewed Review Articles: 3 published and 1 in preparation (2 as a corresponding author and 2 as a first author)
• A cover image for Cell Reports Physical Science - May issue, 2020
• Patents: 1 published and 2 in preparation
• Research Grants: 2 PI (Granted; $322K in 2020 and $120K in 2015), 2 Co-PI (Granted; $400K in 2019 and $506K in 2018), 1 fellowship, 1 conference grant, 2 participation in proposal’s writing
• Invited Talks: 3 (MIT, UC-Berkeley Energy Frontier Research Center, Florida Institute of Technology)
• Conference Oral Presentations: 11
• Conference Poster Presentations: 6
• In the News: https://www.netl.doe.gov/node/9779; https://www.pnnl.gov/news-media/fast-and-easy-two-step-creates-new-porous-materials; https://www.pnnl.gov/news/release.aspx?id=4490; https://www.pnnl.gov/science/highlights/highlight.asp?id=4883; https://phys.org/news/2018-04-decreasing-magnetism-metallic-core-particles.html; https://www.pnnl.gov/science/highlights/highlight.asp?id=4460

Selected Publications:

Elsaidi, S. K.;* Mohamed, M. H.; Helal, A. S.; Thallapally, P. K.;* Li, J.;* Hopkinson, D. “Radiation-resistant metal-organic framework enables efficient separation of krypton fission gas from spent nuclear fuel” Nature Communications, 2020

Elsaidi, S. K.;* Venna, S.; Sekizkardes, A.; Mohamed, M. H.; Steckel, J. A.; Baker, J.; Baltrus, J.; Hopkinson, D. “Multicomponent Mixed-Matrix Membranes as a Next-Generation Carbon Capture Technology”, Cell Reports Physical Science, 2020

Elsaidi, S. K.;* Venna, S.; Mohamed, M. H.; Hopkinson, D. “Dual-Layer MOF Composite Membranes with Tuned Interface Interaction for Post-combustion CO₂ Separation” Cell Reports Physical Science, 2020- Cover Image is featured

Elsaidi, S.; Sinnwell, M.; Banerjee, D.; Devaraj, A.; Kukkadapu, R.; Droubay, T.; Nie, Z.; Kovarik, L.; Manandhar, S.; Nandasiri, M.; McGrail, B.; Thallapally, P.; Vijayakumar, M. “Extraction of Rare Earth Elements using Magnetite@MOF Composites”. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 2018, 6, 18438

Elsaidi, S.; Sinnwell, M.; Banerjee, D.; Devaraj, A.; Kukkadapu, R.; Droubay, T.; Nie, Z.; Kovarik, L.; Manandhar, S.; Nandasiri, M.; McGrail, B.; Thallapally, P.; Vijayakumar, M. Reduced Magnetism in Core-Shell Magnetite@MOF Composites. Nano Letters 2017, 17, 6968-6973.

Mohamed, M. H.; Elsaidi, S. K. Pham, T.; Forrest, K.; Schaef, H.; Hogan, A.; Wojtas, L.; Space, B.; Zaworotko, M. J.; Thallapally, P. K. Hybrid Ultramicroporous Materials for Selective Xe Adsorption and Separation. Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2016, 55, 8285

Elsaidi, S. K.; Mohamed, M. H.; Wojtas, L.; Chanthapally, A.; Pham, T.; Space, B.; Vittal, J. J.; Zaworotko, M. J, Putting the squeeze on CH₄ and CO₂ through control over interpenetration in diamondoid nets. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2014, 136, 5072.

*Corresponding author

Patents:

Michael J. Zaworotko, Mona H. Mohamed, and Sameh K. Elsaidi, Metal-Organic Materials (MOMs) for Adsorption of Polarizable Gases and Methods of Using MOMs, US 9676807.

Teaching Interests

When educating and training the future generation of engineers, it is crucial to emphasize that each course is designed to improve a student’s overall aptitude at solving complex problems. I passionately believe that the inclusion of state-of-the-art research findings in teaching is one of the best ways to foster an engineering mindset, as well as promote and maintain the curiosity and open-mindedness of students to novel ideas. To integrate research into the classroom, I strongly endorse the flipped classroom as a pedagogical teaching model. In this model, I present a complex problem that is related to the course material and the students need to implement this assignment during the class. During that time I provide them with immediate feedback. They work in groups, exploring solutions and preparing materials for a classroom presentation. Students can not only conquer their anxiety and confusion but even become enthusiastic about their ideas for solving problems, implementing independent research, and designing their own coursework.

I have had extensive opportunities to teach courses on diverse topics. I served as Lecturer and Assistant Professor for several undergraduate and graduate courses of the Special Chemistry Program at Alexandria University and mentored two MS students and one Ph.D. student. This program has an innovative curriculum and research at the interface of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Physics, Biology and Applied Science. I have taught the courses of Thermodynamics, Chemical Kinetics, Surface Chemistry and Catalysis, Instrumental Analysis, and Analytical Chemistry for undergraduate students and Statistical Thermodynamics and Mass Transfer for graduate students.

During my Ph.D., I worked as Teaching Assistant and taught General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry and Inorganic Chemistry, in addition to the Advanced Inorganic Chemistry Course for 3 years which includes intensive information on the fundamentals of Inorganic Chemistry and Materials Chemistry and the State-of-the-art research on Advanced Materials. Also, I mentored nine undergraduate students; two of them presented in the Castle Student Conference under my supervision and one got co-authored a scientific paper with me. During my postdoctoral experience, I enjoyed mentoring several undergraduates, graduates, and post-docs and seeing their success that was exciting and amazingly rewarding to me. I look forward to continuing this mentorship with my future graduate students and post-docs.

Because of my interest in developing and improving problem-solving approaches, I am most interested in teaching foundational Chemical Engineering courses such as Mass and Energy balances, Thermodynamics, Chemical Reaction Engineering, Separations, Transport Phenomena, and Reaction Kinetics. Given my research expertise, I would also be interested in developing and teaching courses related to polymer science, heterogeneous catalysis, porous materials and materials engineering.