(6jr) Task-Specific Functional Porous Materials: From Academic Laboratory to the Commercial Marketplace

06/17 – Present Senior Postdoctoral Researcher, National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA, USA

11/15 – 06/17 Visiting Assistant Professor (Research Scholar), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA, USA

01/15 – 06/17 Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University (AU), Alexandria, Egypt

05/15 – 11/15 Department Coordinator for the National Authority of Quality Assurance and Accreditation of Education, AU, Egypt

09/14-03/15 Graduate Intern, Alternate Sponsored Fellowship (ASF), PNNL, USA

01/11 – 12/14 Research and Teaching Assistant, USF, Tampa, FL, USA

11/12 – 12/14 Graduate Mentor, USF, Tampa, FL, USA

08/05 -12/10 Lecturer, Faculty of Science, AU, Alexandria, Egypt.

Research Interests: My research focuses on the discovery and synthesis of such novel functional materials as metal organic frameworks (MOFs), covalent organic frameworks (COFs), porous aromatic frameworks (PAFs), porous polymers, and porous organic cages. Currently, my emphasis is on mixed-matrix membranes, nanocomposites, and hollow fibers. Porous materials are all around us, playing significant roles in many aspects of our daily lives. Their “made-to-order” design means their applications are nearly boundless where the characteristic features of their pores in terms of size, geometry and chemical functionality can determine the ways in which they can be employed. The key step in unlocking the functionality of these materials is transferring them from the lab to the marketplace, but their dispersive nature and the labor involved in processing them has impeded their exploitation. In this proposed research, I discuss the design and synthesis of task-specific porous materials that can be engineered in the form of mixed-matrix membranes, nanocomposites, or hollow fibers based on the needs of the market. The combination of porous materials with other compounds, such as organic polymers, nanoparticles, or magnetic molecules, can generate further hybrid materials with great potential for applications ranging from gas storage and separations to catalysis, water purification, energy storage, light harvesting, and beyond. I draw particular attention to the fact that the research projects that I anticipate involving the fabrication of novel end-use materials for real-world applications including environmental remediation, heterogeneous catalysis, and alternative energy applications—are highly interdisciplinary in nature.

Postdoctoral Project-NETL: “Mixed-Matrix Membranes for Post-Combustion Carbon Capture.”

Advisor: Dr. David Hopkinson

AU-PNNL Joint Project: “Metal-organic Frameworks for the Selective Removal of TcO₄^-.”

PI: Dr. Praveen Thallapally

PhD Dissertation: “Crystal Engineering of Functional Metal-Organic Material Platforms for Gas Storage and Separation Applications.”

Advisor: Professor Michael Zaworotko

Teaching Experience:

Summer 2016 Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, AU, Egypt

C 101-General Chemistry

C 243-Fundumentals of Organic Chemistry

04/15–11/15 Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University (AU), Egypt

C 101-General Chemistry

C 311-Instrumental Analysis I

C 331-Chemistry of Transition elements and coordination chemistry

C 356- Surface Chemistry and Catalysis

C 243-Practical Physical Chemistry (Coordinator)

01/11–09/14 Graduate Teaching Assistant, USF, USA

CHM 2045L-General Chemistry I Lab (Summer A 2012)

CHM 2046L-General Chemistry II Lab (Spring 2011, Summer B 2011, Fall 2011, Spring 2012, Summer B 2012)

CHM 2210L-Organic Chemistry I Lab (Fall 2013, Fall 2014)

CHM 2211L-Organic Chemistry II Lab (Spring 2013, Spring 2014, Summer 2014)

CHM 3610L-Inorganic Chemistry Lab (Fall 2012)

2011–13 CHM 3610- Inorganic Chemistry Lecture (Fall 2011, Fall 2012, Fall 2013) on behalf of Professor Michael Zaworotko

09/06–12/10 Lecturer, Faculty of Science, AU, Egypt

C 101L-General Chemistry Lab (Fall 2006, Fall 2007, Fall 2008, Fall 2010)

C 211L-Fundamentals of Analytical Chemistry Lab (Spring 2006, Spring 2007, Spring 2010)

0403701L-Advanced Analytical Chemistry Lab (Fall 2009)

C 311L-Instrumental Analysis Lab (Spring 2008, Spring 2009, Spring 2010)

09/05-12/10 Chemistry Tutor, Faculty of Science, AU, Egypt

C 101-General Chemistry

C 211-Fundamentals of Analytical Chemistry

C 243- Fundamentals of Organic chemistry

C 311-Instrumental Analysis I

C 331-Chemistry of Transition elements and coordination chemistry

C 356- Surface Chemistry and Catalysis

C 411- Instrumental analysis II

Teaching Interests: I have more than a decade of experience teaching general, organic, inorganic, analytical, and physical chemistry. I have also had the benefit of working in a variety of educational environments, at various universities in different countries, and at national laboratories. The bottom line is that I can teach just about any chemistry/chemical engineering/materials science course in just about any context. I am, however, particularly excited about the prospect of teaching general chemistry, organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry, thermodynamics, kinetics, introduction to chemical engineering, energy and mass transport and materials science. I would also greatly appreciate the opportunity to create a new graduate course that focuses specifically on my area of expertise, functional porous materials.

Mentorship Experience:

I have consistently during my time as a graduate student, visiting assistant professor, and postdoctoral researcher supervised and directed the research of undergraduate students and graduate interns. These students have worked on the synthesis and characterization of porous metal-organic frameworks and membranes for gas storage and separation applications. In recognition of these efforts, which included supporting the students’ presentation of their work at conferences and in high-profile publications, I received a mentor certificate and award from USF. My CV includes further details regarding my mentoring experience.

Selected Publications:

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.

Elsaidi, S. K.; Mohamed, M. H.; Simon, C. M.; Braun, E.; Pham, T.; Forrest, K.; Xu, W.; Space, B.; Zaworotko, M. J.; Thallapally, P. K. Effect of Ring Rotation upon Gas Adsorption in SIFSIX-3- M (M = Fe, Ni) Pillared Square Grid Networks. Chemical Science 2017, 8, 2373-2380.

Elsaidi, S. K.; Mohamed, M. H.; Loring, J.S.; McGrail, B. P.; Thallapally, P. K. Covalent Coordination Frameworks: A New Route for Synthesis and Expansion of Functional Porous Materials. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 2016, 8, 28424.

Elsaidi, S. K.; Mohamed, M. H.; ; Schaef, H.; Kumar, A.; Lusi, M.; Pham, T.; Forrest, K.; Space, B.; Xu, W.; Halder, G.; Liu, J.; Thallapally, P. K.; Zaworotko, M. J. Hydrophobic Pillared Square Grids for Selective Removal of CO₂ from Simulated Flue Gas. Chemical Communications 2015, 51, 16872.

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.

Reviews:

Elsaidi, S. K.; Mohamed, M. H.; Banerjee, D.; Thallapally, P. K. Flexibility in Metal Organic Frameworks: A Fundamental Understanding. Coordination Chemistry Reviews 2018, 358, 125-152.

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.