麻豆传媒

BACKGROUND

Dr Neeraj Kumar is a UKRI/Marie Curie Fellow in Chemical Engineering at 麻豆传媒. He received his master's degree in Chemical Synthesis and Process Technologies from University of Delhi in 2012. During his masters, he dedicated a year to intensive research training at Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-Indian Institute of Petroleum (CSIR-IIP). Subsequently, he embarked on a research journey with Prof AK Ganguli at Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IITD) as a Research Assistant. In 2014, he was awarded the prestigious NRF-Innovation Doctoral Scholarship by the South African Government to pursue his PhD degree in chemistry at University of Johannesburg, South Africa. His PhD research produced various novel methodologies for the nanoengineering of metal chalcogenides and their application in environmental remediation. After PhD, Dr Kumar joined the Centre for Nanostructures and Advanced Materials, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), South Africa in January 2018 as a Postdoctoral Researcher. In 2022, he was promoted to Senior Researcher at CSIR where he worked on process development for scale up (1 kg scale) production of nanomaterials such as graphene-based materials. He was also included in NRF rated researchers (Y2 category) in 2023. His research made innovative advances in the controllable synthesis and processing of emerging two-dimensional (2D) materials, especially graphene, MXenes, and metal chalcogenides and their hybrids/composites for environmental and energy applications, including water treatment, photocatalysis, carbon dioxide capture and conversion and energy storage.

Presently, Dr Kumar's research is primarily oriented towards the development of sustainable wearable energy storage systems by incorporating 2D materials and bio-derived materials. 

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RESEARCH FOCUS

Dr Kumar’s research is focused on the synthesis and processing of functional 2D materials into next-generation macroscopic structures (fibers, films, yarns, and fabrics) for the development of sustainable flexible energy storage systems (supercapacitors) to advance wearable electronics and textiles. His multidisciplinary research endeavors aim to unearth fundamental insights into the nanoscale attributes of 2D materials and to develop innovative processing and fabrication techniques for metamorphosing these materials into multifunctional architectures and devices with the integration of sustainable bio-based materials.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

• Synthesis and processing of emerging 2D materials such as graphene, MoS₂ and MXenes
• Flexible and wearable energy storage systems
• Nanomanufacturing: Development of affordable scale-up and fabrication processes 
• Environmental remediation via photocatalytic, electrochemical and adsorption approaches
• Sustainable materials and technologies

RESEARCH FUNDING

2024 EPSRC Impact Acceleration Account – EPSRC (£10,000), PI

2023 Horizon Europe MSCA Fellowship UKRI Guarantee – EPSRC (£200,511.96), PI

2023 NRF Rated Researcher, NRF South Africa (~£10,600), PI

2019 Parliamentary Grant and DSI, South Africa (~£250,000), Co-PI

2016 Travel Grant for International Conference, NRF South Africa (~£1700), PI

2014 NRF-Innovation Doctoral Scholarship, NRF South Africa (~£16000), PI

2009 University Grant Commission Fellowship (M. Tech.), UGC India (~£2000)

AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

• Inclusion in NRF Rated Researchers (Y2 category) by NRF South Africa in 2023
• Best Poster Award, 3rd conference on “Emerging Frontiers for Sustainable Water, A Trilateral Partnership: Africa-India-UK”, Johannesburg, South Africa, 2015
• Qualified (All India Rank-40) CSIR National Eligibility Test (CSIR-NET) for lectureship/research in India, 2013

PRESENTATIONS

1. Innovation in large area electronics (innoLAE 2025), 19-20 February 2025, Cambridge, United Kingdom. (Poster Presentation)
2. EcoMat Conference 2024, 8-10 July 2024, 麻豆传媒, United Kingdom. (Invited)
3. Graphene2024 (Largest European Event in Graphene and 2D Materials), Madrid, Spain, 25-28 June 2024. (Poster Presentation)
4. First Online International Conference on Advanced Two-Dimensional Materials, 9-11 Jun 2022, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, India. (Invited talk and advisory board)
5. Polymer Processing Society (PPS) Europe-Africa 2019 Regional Conference, 18-21 Nov 2019, CSIR Pretoria, South Africa. (Invited talk and Session Chair)
6. International Conference on Environment, Materials and Green Technology, 24-25 Nov 2016, VUT, South Africa. (Oral Presentation)
7. Applied Nanotechnology and Nanoscience International Conference, Barcelona, Spain, Nov 9-11, 2016. (Oral Presentation)
8. International Conference on Nanoscience, Nanotechnology & Advanced Materials, GITAM University, India, 14-17 Dec 2015. (Oral Presentation)
9. 3rd International Symposium on Electrochemistry, University of the Western Cape, South Africa, May 26-28, 2015. (Oral Presentation)
10. 3rd conference on Emerging Frontiers for Sustainable Water, A Trilateral Partnership: Africa-India-UK, Johannesburg, South Africa, 3-5 Aug 2015. (Best Poster Award)

Past Supervision

• Supervising/Mentoring various MEng, MSc and PhD students at 麻豆传媒
• Co-supervised four MEng/MSc students at 麻豆传媒 and one MSc student at North-West University, South Africa.

Past teaching experience

• Instructor (2014-2016): Chemical Engineering and Chemistry Laboratory, University of Johannesburg, South Africa
• Instructor (2016): Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Johannesburg, South Africa
• Introductory Chemistry for Engineers

• Articles

  • Zamisa MP, Ray SS, Madirisha MM, Ojijo V, Seadira T, Sadiku RE, Kumar N, Orasugh J. . Nano Express 2025, 6(1), 015012.
  • Gusain R, Kumar N, Seyedin S, Jiang Y. . Advanced Sustainable Systems 2024, 8(12), 2400341.
  • Kumar N, Gusain R, Pandey S, Ray SS. . Advanced Materials Interfaces 2023, 10(2), 2201375.
  • Kumar N, Gusain R, Masukume M, Ray SS. . Solar RRL 2023, 7(20), 2300475.
  • Gusain R, Kumar N, Ray SS. . ChemistrySelect 2023, 8(20), e202300738.
  • Folorunso O, Kumar N, Hamam Y, Sadiku R, Ray SS. . Results in Materials 2022, 15, 100295.
  • Kumar N, Setshedi K, Masukume M, Ray SS. . Carbon Letters 2022, 32(4), 1031-1046.
  • Kumar N, Salehiyan R, Chauke V, Botlhoko OJ, Setshedi K, Scriba M, Masukume M, Ray SS. . FlatChem 2021, 27, 100224.
  • Folorunso O, Kumar N, Hamam Y, Sadiku R, Ray SS. . FlatChem 2021, 29, 100281.
  • Gusain R, Kumar N, Opoku F, Govender PP, Ray SS. . ACS Applied Nano Materials 2021, 4(5), 4721-4734.
  • Folorunso O, Hamam Y, Sadiku R, Ray SS, Kumar N. . Polymers 2021, 13(7), 1034.
  • Gusain R, Kumar N, Ray SS. Recent advances in carbon nanomaterial-based adsorbents for water purification. Coordination Chemistry Reviews 2020, 405, 213111.
  • Kumar N, Kumar S, Gusain R, Manyala N, Eslava S, Ray SS. Polypyrrole-Promoted rGO–MoS₂ Nanocomposites for Enhanced Photocatalytic Conversion of CO₂ and H₂O to CO, CH₄, and H₂ Products. ACS Applied Energy Materials 2020, 3(10), 9897-9909.
  • Pandey S, Fosso-Kankeu E, Spiro MJ, Waanders X, Kumar N, Ray SS, Kim J, Kang M. Equilibrium, kinetic, and thermodynamic studies of lead ion adsorption from mine wastewater onto MoS2-clinoptilolite composite. Materials Today Chemistry 2020, 18, 100376.
  • Gusain R, Kumar N, Fosso-Kankeu E, Ray SS. Efficient Removal of Pb(II) and Cd(II) from Industrial Mine Water by a Hierarchical MoS₂/SH-MWCNT Nanocomposite. ACS Omega 2019, 4, 13922-13935.
  • Kumar N, Fosso-Kankeu E, Ray SS. Achieving Controllable MoS₂ Nanostructures with Increased Interlayer Spacing for Efficient Removal of Pb(II) from Aquatic Systems. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 2019, 11, 19141-19155.
  • Umukoro EH, Kumar N, Ngila JC, Arotiba OA. Expanded graphite supported pn MoS2-SnO2 heterojunction nanocomposite electrode for enhanced photo-electrocatalytic degradation of a pharmaceutical pollutant. Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry 2018, 827, 193-203.
  • Malkappa K, Ray SS, Kumar N. Enhanced Thermo-Mechanical Stiffness, Thermal Stability, and Fire Retardant Performance of Surface-Modified 2D MoS₂ Nanosheet-Reinforced Polyurethane Composites. Macromolecular Materials and Engineering 2018, 304, 1800562.
  • Kumar N, Mittal H, Alhassan SM, Ray SS. Bionanocomposite Hydrogel for the Adsorption of Dye and Reusability of Generated Waste for the Photodegradation of Ciprofloxacin: A Demonstration of the Circularity Concept for Water Purification. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering 2018, 6, 17011-17025.
  • George BPA, Kumar N, Abrahamse H, Ray SS. Apoptotic efficacy of multifaceted biosynthesized silver nanoparticles on human adenocarcinoma cells. Scientific Reports 2018, 8, 14368.
  • Kumar N, George BPA, Abrahamse H, Parashar V, Ngila JC. Sustainable one-step synthesis of hierarchical microspheres of PEGylated MoS2 nanosheets and MoO3 nanorods: Their cytotoxicity towards lung and breast cancer cells. Applied Surface Science 2017, 396, 8-18.
  • Kumar N, Reddy L, Parashar V, Ngila JC. Controlled synthesis of microsheets of ZnAl layered double hydroxides hexagonal nanoplates for efficient removal of Cr (VI) ions and anionic dye from water. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering 2017, 5, 1718-1731.
  • Kumar N, George BPA, Abrahamse A, Parashar P, Ray SS, Ngila JC. A novel approach to low-temperature synthesis of cubic HfO₂ nanostructures and their cytotoxicity. Scientific Reports 2017, 7, 9351.

• Authored Book

  • Ray SS, Gusain R, Kumar N. Carbon Nanomaterial-Based Adsorbents for Water Purification. Elsevier, 2020.

• Book Chapters

  • Gusain R, Kumar N, Jiang Y. . In: Reference Module in Materials Science and Materials Engineering. London: Elsevier Ltd, 2025.
  • Kumar N, Gusain R, Ray SS. . In: Kumar N; Gusain R; Ray SS, ed. Two-Dimensional Materials for Environmental Applications. Cham: Springer, 2023, pp.409-439.
  • Gusain R, Kumar N, Ray SS. . In: Kumar N; Gusain R; Ray SS, ed. Two-Dimensional Materials for Environmental Applications. Cham: Springer, 2023, pp.351-374.
  • Gusain R, Kumar N, Ray SS. . In: Naveen Kumar and Peter Ramashadi Makgwane, ed. Advanced Materials for a Sustainable Environment: Development Strategies and Applications. CRC Press, 2022, pp.293-315.
  • Kumar N, Ray SS. Synthesis and Functionalisation of Nanomaterials. In: Processing of Polymer-based Nanocomposites. Springer, Cambridge, 2018, pp.15-55.

• Edited Book

  • Kumar N, Gusain R, Ray SS, ed. . Berlin: Springer, 2023.