Research

My work centers on visible-light photocatalysis and green adsorbents for the remediation of contaminated water.

My doctoral research at the University of the Punjab addressed the removal and degradation of textile dyes, pharmaceuticals, and heavy metals from simulated wastewater using engineered nanomaterials and green sorbents, complemented by systematic kinetic, thermodynamic, and mechanistic analysis, including a six-month HEC-funded research placement (IRSIP, March–August 2023) at the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre, University of Glasgow. Across more than a decade of teaching and research — including a dedicated research-analyst appointment and the supervision of 13 student research projects (1 MPhil, 12 BS) — I have developed end-to-end competence in nanophotocatalyst synthesis, structural and optical characterization, photocatalytic reaction design, and reaction-kinetics modeling.

My two research strands solve half a problem each. Adsorbents capture pollutants but become contaminated waste; photocatalysts destroy pollutants but struggle when they are dilute. The next step is to combine them.

I want to build hybrid materials that concentrate dyes and antibiotics at a low-cost green support and then break them down under visible light — so the material cleans itself and can be reused — and to test them on the effluent that textile and pharmaceutical industries actually discharge. Four questions drive this agenda:

1. Can one material both capture and destroy?

   Anchor doped-ZrO₂ photocatalysts on biosorbent or nanocellulose supports, and test whether adsorbed dyes and antibiotics are degraded in place so the hybrid regenerates under visible light instead of becoming secondary waste. Builds on: Zn–Mo–ZrO₂ and V–ZrO₂ (2026) · functionalized biosorbents (2019–2023) · nanocellulose–pectin beads (supervised, 2026)

2. Does performance survive real wastewater?

   Move beyond simulated solutions to real textile and pharmaceutical effluent — with salts, surfactants, mixed dyes, and shifting pH — and learn which matrix components suppress adsorption or scavenge reactive species. Builds on: dye and heavy-metal biosorption studies · water-quality analysis as a research analyst

3. Are the breakdown products safe?

   Identify the intermediates formed during photodegradation, map the pathway from parent pollutant to mineralization, and screen by-products for toxicity — including with in silico prediction tools. Builds on: reactive-species scavenging (•OH, O₂•⁻, h⁺) · HPLC · in silico screening in supervised research

4. Could an industry actually use it?

   Measure reuse over many cycles, test continuous and fixed-bed operation, and estimate cost per volume treated — the evidence a dye house or effluent-treatment operator needs. Builds on: reusability testing · economic-feasibility and scalability assessment in my PhD

I have built my research with the core instruments of a university chemistry lab. The questions above need a research environment that goes further.

If your group works on photocatalysis, adsorption, or water treatment and would consider hosting a fellowship application, I would be glad to hear from you — momalakram96@gmail.com.

Key figures from my peer-reviewed papers — photocatalysts and green nanomaterials first, then green biosorbents. Click a figure to enlarge it, or open the paper on the Publications page.

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  2026Chemical PapersPhotocatalysis

  Zn–Mo co-doped ZrO₂ under visible light

  Proposed mechanism: LED light excites the catalyst, and the resulting electron–hole pairs form reactive oxygen species (•OH, •O₂⁻) that break Congo Red and ciprofloxacin down to CO₂, water and inorganic ions.

  View paper →
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  2026Chemical PapersGreen nanomaterials

  Aloe barbadensis–mediated Ni–Mg–Zr nanocomposite

  Graphical abstract: aloe vera extract and three metal salts give a Zr-rich nanocomposite with antibacterial, antifungal and antioxidant activity that also decolorizes 93.4% of malachite green in 120 min under UV light. First- and corresponding-author paper.

  View paper →
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  2026BioNanoScienceGreen nanomaterials

  Aloe barbadensis–zirconium nanohybrids

  Graphical abstract: aloe vera gel extract turns a zirconium precursor into ZrO₂ nanohybrids that restore liver enzymes, antioxidant defences and tissue structure after CCl₄-induced injury in rats. Corresponding-author paper.

  View paper →
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  2026Iranian J. CatalysisPhotocatalysis

  Vanadium-doped zirconia

  Synthesis route: gel formation, aging, sonication, filtration and calcination to ZrO₂.

  View paper →
• 
  2020Desalin. Water Treat.Biosorption

  Phthalate-functionalized Sorghum bicolor

  SEM micrographs (500×) of the sorghum biosorbent used to remove Alizarin Red S and Bromophenol Blue.

  View paper →
• 
  2019Water, Air, & Soil PollutionBiosorption

  Citric acid–functionalized Bougainvillea spectabilis

  Citric acid adds carboxyl groups to the plant surface, which then capture Pb²⁺ through electrostatic interaction and ion exchange.

  View paper →
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  2023Desalin. Water Treat.Biosorption

  Xanthate-modified Phaseolus vulgaris

  Carbonization, alkalization, xanthation and Mg substitution create binding sites for lead and cadmium.

  View paper →
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  2022Desalin. Water Treat.Biosorption

  Modified Trifolium alexandrinum

  Methanol, formaldehyde and glutaraldehyde modifications of clover biomass for Cr(III) removal.

  View paper →
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  2021Journal of ChemistryBiosorption

  Haplophragma adenophyllum biowaste

  Possible routes by which Gentian Violet dye binds to the powdered bark. First-author paper.

  View paper →
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  2019Desalin. Water Treat.Biosorption

  Bougainvillea spectabilis stalks & leaves

  FTIR spectrum showing the hydroxyl, carbonyl and alkyl groups that bind Cd(II) and Cu(II).

  View paper →

All publications →

A major strand of my research is the design and synthesis of transition-metal-doped and co-doped zirconium dioxide (ZrO₂) photocatalysts.

I co-developed vanadium-doped ZrO₂ (V–ZrO₂) and zinc–molybdenum co-doped ZrO₂ (Zn–Mo–ZrO₂) systems in which dopant identity and loading, calcination conditions, and phase composition were tuned to narrow the band gap, suppress electron–hole recombination, and activate the catalyst under visible light — work published in Chemical Papers (2026) and the Iranian Journal of Catalysis (2026). In parallel I have advanced green, plant-mediated synthesis of metal and bimetallic nanocatalysts — including Aloe barbadensis–mediated zirconium nanohybrids (BioNanoScience, 2026) and a trimetallic Ni–Mg–Zr nanocomposite (Chemical Papers, 2026, first and corresponding author) — and, through supervised student research, Cymbopogon citratus–derived Cu@Zr, Ni–Mo@Zr, and Mg@Zr nanoparticles — giving me hands-on command of low-toxicity, sustainable routes to catalytic nanomaterials with controlled size, morphology, and surface functionality.

I have designed and executed systematic photocatalytic degradation experiments against recalcitrant organic pollutants under visible and LED irradiation.

Targets include the azo/triarylmethane dyes Congo Red, Gentian Violet, and Malachite Green, and the fluoroquinolone antibiotic ciprofloxacin. These studies systematically varied catalyst dose, initial pollutant concentration, pH, and irradiation time; quantified degradation by UV–Vis spectrophotometry; and evaluated catalyst reusability and stability over successive cycles. I performed reaction-kinetics modeling (pseudo-first-/second-order and Langmuir–Hinshelwood analysis) and mechanistic studies using reactive-species scavenging to identify the dominant radicals (•OH, O₂•⁻, h⁺) driving mineralization, establishing clear structure–activity relationships for the doped-oxide systems.

I am hands-on across the characterization workflow for photocatalytic and sorbent materials.

I use XRD for phase and crystallinity, FTIR for surface functional groups, UV–Vis diffuse reflectance for band-gap estimation, and SEM/TEM for morphology. During a dedicated research-analyst post at the University of the Punjab I operated, calibrated, and maintained ICP-OES, atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS), FTIR, HPLC, and flame photometry for quantitative water-quality and trace-elemental analysis, giving me a strong analytical foundation for tracking reaction intermediates and degradation products.

My doctoral, MPhil, and MSc research collectively built deep expertise in green biosorption for dye and heavy-metal removal.

Each sorbent was given complete equilibrium-isotherm, kinetic, and thermodynamic characterization — among them Haplophragma adenophyllum bark, phthalate-functionalized Sorghum bicolor, and functionalized Bougainvillea and Trifolium biomass. I have supervised the fabrication of nanocellulose–pectin composite beads for adsorptive dye removal. This dual command of pollutant capture (adsorption) and destruction (photocatalysis) underpins my research agenda on integrated “capture-and-destroy” materials.

Thirteen student research projects supervised (1 MPhil, 12 BS), 2022–2026 — from photocatalysts and green nanoparticles to trace-metal detection and herbal formulations. More on my approach on the Teaching page.