Dr Abdul Majeed
My field of research is fascinating. The best way to explain it to non-specialists is…
As of today, almost everywhere we are facing climate changes due to the emission of green house gases generated from the burning of fossil fuels. Considering the toxic effects of green house gases on our environment and the limited sources of fossil fuels, we need alternative energy sources which must be clean and sustainable. In this regard, hydrogen fuel stands out. A very simple but not very economical way to produce highly pure hydrogen is water splitting. So, my research work is to make water splitting an economical reaction so that we can use hydrogen as our future fuel.
What research questions are you currently working on?
Currently, I’m working on the design of cheap and efficient catalysts based on 3D printed carbon structures. Here, I will be applying 3D printing technique to produce useful structures at micro/nano levels to apply them as catalysts for economical and efficient hydrogen production.
My most important success in research to date is…
To date, main success in my research career is the work I did during my PhD. I successfully synthesized free-standing films of single-wall carbon nanotubes decorated with monolayer carbon covered ultrafine nickel particles. After some post treatments, these film structures were applied as catalysts for water splitting reaction.
Will the results of your research have a concrete impact on our everyday lives now or at some later date?
I’m very confident that the results of our work will be very useful in the development of cheap and efficient catalysts for water splitting to produce hydrogen. Once we are able to produce economical hydrogen at large scale, it will of course have great impact on everyone’s life.
I have chosen TU Darmstadt because…
TU Darmstadt has a great history of many innovative contributions in the modern science & technology. It has excellent reputation in the scientific community worldwide. I particularly chose TU Darmstadt because of its interdisciplinary research environment where the researchers are working at the interface of Chemistry, Materials science & Chemical engineering.
What reputation does German research enjoy in your home country?
German research and technology has outstanding reputation in my home country. A lot of brilliant researchers trained in German institutes are currently working in the top level national institutions at my home country.
Questionnaire for the host
Guest of: Professor Dr Bastian J. M. Etzold
Department: Department of Chemistry
What did you appreciate most about your guest, or what is it that impressed you most favorably…
I am impressed by the creativity of Dr Majeed research approaches and that this creative research is applied to solve great challenges to enable a sustainable future. He could gain this fascinating profile through his several research stays at different countries and institutions. I am happy that Dr Majeed decided to continuous his research in our lab, where science and engineering of carbon materials will be added to his profile.
You, your team, and TU Darmstadt benefit from your guest’s…
The stay of Dr Majeed brings us several hard and soft benefits. We benefit clearly form his expertise in see water electrolysis and catalyst synthesis. But also his international background and great open minded character increases the diversity of our team and is a stimulus for new creative research. Also his research fits perfectly to the chemistry departments research area ‘Sustainable Catalysis’ and we expect a stimulus not only in our team but for the whole research area.
