Newsletter, Jumada Al-Awwal 1438 Jumada Al-Akhirah Seminar on

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1 Newsletter, Jumada Al-Awwal 1438 Jumada Al-Akhirah 1438 Seminar on 1 How to Map Ultrafast Carrier Dynamics on Photoactive Material Surfaces and Device Interfaces in Real Space and Time CENT invited Dr. Omar F. Mohammed, an Assistant Professor of Chemical Science in Solar and Photovoltaics Engineering Research Center, Division of Physical Sciences and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) to deliver a seminar on how to map Ultrafast Carrier Dynamics on Photoactive Material Surfaces and Device Interfaces in Real Space and Time on Wednesday, 1 st of March, 2017 at the Research Institute building.. {details on page 2} CHEMISTRY STUDENT RESEARCH POSTER DAY Mr. Ibrahim Khan took 1 st position CHEMISTRY STUDENT RESEARCH POSTER DAY organized by the Department of Chemistry with the support of the Saudi Arabia Chapter of America Chemical Society {details on page 4} NEW PATENTS Two new US patents US B1 (2016) and US 9,399,576 B2 have been granted to researchers affiliated to the Center of Excellence in Nanotechnology.. {details on page 3} UPCOMING EVENTS UPCOMING EVENT Joint Seminar between Center of Research Excellence for Nanotechnology (CENT) and Chemical Engineering Department (CHE). MS Thesis defense of several CENT affiliated students. Details on page 5

2 SEMINAR on How to Map Ultrafast Carrier Dynamics on Photoactive Material Surfaces and Device Interfaces in Real Space and Time By Dr. Omar F. Mohammed Assistant Professor of Chemical Science in Solar and Photovoltaic Engineering Research Center, Division of Physical Sciences and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and CENT invited Dr. Omar Muhammed, an Assistant Professor of Chemical Science in Solar and Photovoltaic at the Engineering Research Center, Division of Physical Sciences and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) to deliver a seminar on the topic How to Map Ultrafast Carrier Dynamics on Photoactive Material Surfaces and Device Interfaces in Real Space and Time on Wednesday, 1 st of March, 2017at the Research Institute Building 15. The event started with the introduction of the speaker by Dr. Safyan Khan of CENT, the speaker started his presentation with an introduction to KAUST and her research capabilities before introducing the scopes of discussion in the seminar, the scopes are pump-probe in laser spectroscopy and electron microscopy, charge transfer dynamics at interfaces and Four-Dimensional (4D) electron imaging: from concept to unique applications. Newsletter, Jumada Al-Awwal 1438 Jumada Al-Akhirah 1438 Technology (KAUST) He described the pump probe concept in spectroscopy as the best technique in probing the surface of materials with minimal interference from the bulk and discussed the unique applications such as in probing carrier dynamics at interface P/N junctions/water splitting, electron injection in QD-Photocatalysis solar cells, carrier dynamics in real space and heat transfer on surfaces highlighting specific applications on how charge transfer can be probe in organic compounds, quantom dots (QD) and perovskites using specific examples from his research works published in different renowned journals. He later discussed how real space mapping of carrier dynamics on material surface and interface can be selectively achieved using 4D imaging where he discussed the experimental set up of a second generation four-dimensional scanning ultrafast electron microscopy (4D S-UEM) at KAUST and demonstrated its ability to take time-resolved secondary electron images of material surfaces with 650fs temporal and approximately 5nm spatial resolution. He highlighted various research work where the 4D S-UEM have been used to successfully detect carrier dynamics in Si P/N junctions, on semiconductor CdSe surfaces, on semiconductor nanowires before and after treatment, on semiconductor QDs before and after treatment, thin films, carrier diffusion on material surfaces, and heat transfer on material surfaces. He concluded the presentation by highlighting the importance and other applications of the 4D S-UEM. 2

3 US Patent, US B1 (2016) SURFACE BONDED RH-BIS(PHOSPHINE) ON MAGNETIC NANOPARTICLES AS A RECYCLABLE CATALYST FOR HYDROFORMYLATION OF OLEFINS Shaikh, M.N., Yamani, Z. H. A Filing date Jan. 6, 2016 Publication date Nov 1, 2016 Catalysis plays a central role in the production of essential chemicals in our daily lives such as medicines, fine chemicals, polymer, fiber, and fuel. Homogeneous catalysis plays a dominating role in this area as it reacts in the same phase with the reactant and thereby all sites are accessible and easy to tune by organic functional groups interconversion. However, the limitation of separating catalyst from the desired product after the reaction hindered it s scaling up into commercial processes. Great efforts have been devoted to developing alternatives to minimize the separation cost and to maximize product purity. Heterogeneous catalysis draws chemists attention as it is easy to separate, recycle and more environmentally friendly catalysts. Newsletter, Jumada Al-Awwal 1438 Jumada Al-Akhirah 1438 RESEARCH CORNER 3 US PATENT, US 9,399,576 B2 450 NM VISIBLE LIGHT-INDUCED PHOTOSENSITIZED DEGRADATION OF RHODAMINE B MOLECULES OVER BIOBR IN AQUEOUS SOLUTION Muhammad Ashraf Gondal, Dhahran (SA); Kai Shen, Nanjing (CN); Xiafeng Chang, Nanjing (CN); and Zain Hasan Abdallah Yamani, Dhahran (SA) Filing date Jan 14, 2014 Publication date Jul 26,2016 A method for degrading Rhodamine B including: mixing BiOBr and Rhodamine B; and irradiating the mixture with a radiation having a wavelength of from 440 nm to 554 nm. The Rhodamine B may be in an aqueous solution. The BiOBr may be added to the aqueous solution of Rhodamine B in an amount of from 0.2 to 0.5 mg/ml. The BiOBr may have a sheetlike structure with particles having a diameter of from 3 μm to 5 μm. The BiOBr may be in a pure crystal tetragonal phase. Superparamagnetic Iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) as solid supported catalyst becomes the obvious choice, which opened up a promising research strategy to develop surface coated recyclable catalyst by anchoring homogeneous organic species (ligand or metal complexes) and mimicking the homogeneous catalysis. Furthermore, SPIONS provide recyclable catalysts due to their insolubility in organic solvents and their distinct magnetic nature, rendering their separation from the heterogeneous reaction system virtually effortless. In this invention, the newly prepared organic ligand has been coated on the ultrasmall magnetic nanoparticles (5-7 nm). These nanomaterials exhibited high catalytic activity toward the conversion of alkenes to aldehydes; the reactions reached the maximum (>99%) with a low syngas pressure. The recyclability was tested with the catalyst on styrene as the substrate, and it was found that even after seven cycles, without the addition of further Rh(I), the catalyst was persistently active. NEW CENT AFFILIATES Dr. Ihsan-ul-Haq Toor Dr. Muhammad Sharif Chemistry Department Dr. Syed Sohail Akhtar Dr. Wasif Farooq Hussain Chemical Engineering

4 Newsletter, Jumada Al-Awwal 1438 Jumada Al-Akhirah 1438 CHEMISTRY STUDENT RESEARCH POSTER DAY 4 Mr. Ibrahim Khan took 1 st position at the CHEMISTRY STUDENT RESEARCH POSTER DAY organized by the Department of Chemistry with the support of the Saudi Arabia Chapter of America Chemical Society. Mr. Ibrahim is a CENT affiliate research assistant, his poster presentation was titled single step strategy GaON/ZnO Photoanodes for enhanced water oxidation We are pleased to announce the promotion of Dr. Mohammad Qamar to the rank of Research Assistant II. Dr. Qamar joined the Center of Research Excellence in Nanotechnology (CENT) as post-doctoral fellow after which he held the position of Research Scientist III, proving himself as a hardworking and committed researcher. His promotion should inspire others to emulate his achievement and excel in their endeavor. Please join us in congratulating Dr. Qamar on his promotion, He can be reached via his address qamar@kfupm.edu.sa It is our pleasure to announce that Dr. Tawfik Saleh, faculty member of Chemistry Department has been promoted to the rank of Associate Professor. Dr. Tawfik is one of CENT affiliates in Chemistry Department, His promotion should encourage others to work hard and aim to be successful in their endeavor. You may extend your congratulatory messages to Dr. Tawfik Saleh by sending him a message to his address

5 Newsletter, Jumada Al-Awwal 1438 Jumada Al-Akhirah 1438 UPCOMING EVENTS 5 Joint Seminar Center of Research Excellence in Nanotechnology (CENT) and Chemical Engineering Department Speaker: Dr. Wasif Farooq Topic: Microalgae Biotechnology for fuel, chemicals and material synthesis Date: Monday, April 17th, 2017 Time: 11:00 AM Venue: Building 4, Room 125 (Auditorium) MS Thesis Defense of Mr. Oluwole O. Ajumobi Thesis Title: Developing Ceria-Based Nanocomposites for Hydrocarbon Cracking Date: April 10, 2017 Time: AM Venue: Building 4, Room 125 MS Thesis Defenses of Mr. Saheed lateef Thesis Title: Development of SSZ-54 Catalyst for the Catalytic Cracking of Alkanes for Production of Light Olefins MS Thesis Defense of Mr. Hafiz Khuram Thesis Title: Development of Ceramic Nanocomposite Membrane for Water Filtration Application MS Thesis Defense of Mr. Umar Azam Thesis Title: Development of Hybrid Nanocomposite Polymer Coatings for Tribological Applications Under Dry and Water Lubrication Conditions PhD Dissertation Defense of Mr. Saheed Adewale Thesis Title: Single Pot Synthesis of Modified SBA-15 Ni-Mo Based Catalysts in Fuel Desulfurization The date, time and venue of the defenses will determine later Congratulations to the following CENT affiliated students on the successful presentation of their MS thesis Mr. M. Rizwan Yousaf Mr. Mudassir Farooq

6 Newsletter, Jumada Al-Awwal 1438 Jumada Al-Akhirah 1438 RECENT CENT AFFILIATED PUBLICATIONS 6 "Sonochemical-driven ultrafast facile synthesis of SnO 2 nanoparticles: Growth mechanism structural electrical and hydrogen gas sensing properties," Ullah, Hafeez ullah., Khan, I., Yamani, Z. H. and Qurashi, A., Ultrasonics Sonochemistry,Vol. 34, Issue, 2017, pp "Ab-initio investigation of adsorption of CO and CO 2 molecules on graphene: Role of intrinsic defects on gas sensing," N. Tit, K. Said, N. M. Mahmoud, S. Kouser and Z. H. Yamani, Applied Surface Science, Vol. 394, 2017, pp "Single-pot synthesis of Ti-SBA-15-NiMo hydrodesulfurization catalysts: Role of calcination temperature on dispersion and activity," S. A. Ganiyu, K. Alhooshani and S. A. Ali, Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, Vol. 203, issue, 2017, pp "532 nm nanosecond pulse laser triggered synthesis of ZnO2 nanoparticles via a fast ablation technique in liquid and their photocatalytic performance," D. Yang, M. A. Gondal, Z. H. Yamani, U. Baig, X. Qiao, G. Liu, Q. Xu, D. Xiang, J. Mao and K. Shen, Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing, Vol. 57, issue, 2017, pp "Probing the light harvesting and charge rectification of bismuth nanoparticles behind the promoted photoreactivity onto Bi/BiOCl catalyst by (in-situ) electron microscopy," X. Chang, L. Xie, E. Wei, K. Lu, Q. Qi, C. Dong, X. Yan, M. A. Gondal, S. G. Rashid and Q. I. Dai, Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, Vol. 201, issue, 2017, pp "Detection of CO 2 using CNT-based sensors: Role of Fe catalyst on sensitivity and selectivity," Tit, Al Ezzi, Abdullah, Yusupov, Kouser, Bahlouli and Yamani, Journal, Vol. 186, 2017, pp "ZnO nanostructures based biosensors for cancer and infectious disease applications: Perspectives, prospects and promises," S. S. Bhat, A. Qurashi and F. A. Khanday, TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry, Vol. 86, issue, 2017, pp "A novel fabrication methodology for sulfur-doped ZnO nanorods as an active photoanode for improved water oxidation in visible-light regime," Khan, A., M. I. Ahmed, A. Adam, A. M. Azad and M. Qamar, Nanotechnology, Vol. 28, 2017, pp "DC Electrical Conductivity Retention, Optical Properties and Ammonia Sensing Analysis of Naturally Degraded CSA-Doped Graphene/polyaniline Composite Nanofibers Prepared with CTAB," S. Ghazali, M. M. Hossain, A. Khan, M. Y. Khan and M. Hasan, Journal of Electronic Materials, Vol. 46, issue 1, 2017, pp "Cathodized Gold Nanoparticle Modified Graphite Pencil Electrode for Non Enzymatic Sensitive Voltammetric Detection of Glucose," Kawde, A. N., M. Aziz, M. El Zohri, N. Baig and N. Odewunmi, Electroanalysis, Vol , pp 1-9.