Ken Aldren Sumaya Usman

Deakin University · Institute for Frontier Materials (IFM)

The outstanding electrical conductivity and high specific capacitance of 2D Ti3C2Tx MXene have made them promising materials for a wide range of applications including wearable electronics, energy storage, sensors, and electromagnetic interference shielding. However, the fabrication of MXene architectures, both pure and composite, often results in...

Piezoelectric fluoropolymers convert mechanical energy to electricity and are ideal for sustainably providing power to electronic devices. To convert mechanical energy, a net polarization must be induced in the fluoropolymer, which is currently achieved via an energy-intensive electrical poling process. Eliminating this process will enable the low-...

The exciting combination of high electrical conductivity, high specific capacitance and colloidal stability of two-dimensional Ti3C2Tx MXene (referred to as MXene) has shown great potential in a wide range of applications including wearable electronics, energy storage, sensors, and electromagnetic interference shielding. To realize its full potenti...

The liquid crystal (LC) phases of two-dimensional (2D) transition metal carbides/nitrides (MXenes) have enabled the production of their unique macro-architectures with an ordered microstructure and enhanced properties. However, LC phases in additive-free MXene dispersions are known to occur above relatively high sheet size and concentration thresho...

Developing solar‐driven desalination through interfacial steam generation is crucial to reducing global water shortages. However, traditional solar steam generation systems have faced efficiency, durability, cost, and complexity limitations. To overcome these issues, interfacial solar steam evaporators are fabricated using light‐absorbing materials...

Two dimensional (2D) materials have been extensively used in applications such as energy storage, solar steam generation, power generation, and water purification. Among these 2D materials, Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene is one of the most popular candidates for energy storage applications because of its outstanding electrical and electrochemical properties. H...

Conductive fibers are needed for the development of flexible electronic and biomedical devices. MXene fibers show great promise for use in such applications because of their high conductivity. Current literature on MXene fiber development highlights the need for improving their mechanical properties and investigation of biocompatibility. Here the u...

X-rays are a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths ranging from 10 pm to 10 nm. Similar to visible light, X-rays provide a powerful tool to study the atoms and elemental information of objects. Different characterization methods based on X-rays are established, such as X-ray diffraction, small-and wide-angle X-r...

Constructing highly porous structures using Ti3C2Tx MXene provides a promising strategy toward achieving low density, high specific surface area, and shorter ion/molecule transport paths. However, the weak MXene‐MXene or MXene‐substrate interactions hinder the development of ultra‐robust and elastic MXene‐based architectures. To address this issue,...

The “mass-less” energy storage technology based on the concept of multifunctional structural energy storage composites has the potential to revolutionize the design and performance of electric vehicles in the future. This work presents the fabrication process and properties of a structural supercapacitor laminate made of surface functionalized carb...

Stimuli-responsive membrane reactors offer advanced strategies towards simultaneous separation and degradation of persistent organic contaminants, allowing for triggered response through photo or electro stimuli. However, the scalable fabrication of stimuli-responsive nanoporous membranes with high selectivity and catalytic reactivity is still chal...

Ti3C2Tx MXene is a promising active material for developing fiber-based devices due to its exceptional electrical conductivity and electrochemical capacitance. However, fabricating robust fibers with high MXene content remains challenging due to shortcomings such as low interfacial adhesion between sheets and shrinkage-induced sheet disorientation...

The recent Circular Economy Business Innovation Centre (CEBIC) Community Mixer gave PhD candidate Ken Aldren Usman a chance to put his professional networking skills to the test. In this article, he provides his top tips for new networkers.

In article number 2200114, we report a sequential bridging (SB) method of fortifying MXene, leading to dense, free-standing films of interconnected flakes, with significantly enhanced toughness and flexibility, without compromising electrical conductivity or electrochemical capacitance.

We report a proof-of-concept study on the development of multifunctional surface coatings for carbon fibre (CF) electrodes in structural energy composites, which for the first time addresses three key properties of CF: capacitance, tensile properties and interfacial adhesion, simultaneously. Multifunctional coatings have been designed by covalently...

https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-how-is-fabric-made-178783

Ti3C2Tx MXene (or “MXene” for simplicity) has gained noteworthy attention for its metal‐like electrical conductivity and high electrochemical capacitance – a unique blend of properties attractive towards a wide range of applications such as energy storage, healthcare monitoring and electromagnetic interference shielding. However, processing MXene a...

MXene inks are promising candidates for fabricating conductive circuits and flexible devices. Here, MXene inks prepared from solvent mixtures demonstrate long-term stability which can be employed in commercial rollerball pens to write circuits on flexible substrates. Such circuits exhibit fast, accurate capacitive response for touch-board and water...

Through material innovation, nanoscale structural design and hybrid manufacturing methods, great efforts have been made in developing high-performance energy storage systems. Two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials, such as MXene, can be applied to such energy storage devices and give paly to their potential enormous advantages. In order to achieve bett...

Regenerated silk fibers typically fall short of silkworm cocoon fibers in mechanical properties due to reduced fiber crystal structure and alignment. One approach to address this has been to employ inorganic materials as reinforcing agents. The present study avoids the need for synthetic additives, demonstrating the first use of exfoliated silk nan...

Three-dimensional lithium (Li) hosts have been shown to suppress the growth of Li dendrites for next generation Li metal batteries. Here, we report a cost-effective and scalable approach to produce highly stable Li composite anodes from industrial hemp textile waste. The hemp@Li composite anodes demonstrate stable cycling both in half and full cell...

Nanomaterials have gained noteworthy attention in several applications due to their significantly improved properties relative to their bulk counterparts. However, achieving effective redispersibility of nanomaterials in a wide array of solvents, with inhibited particle agglomeration and preserved properties such as large surface area, remains chal...

The increasing global use of carbon fibre (CF) in different industries has resulted in production of significant amounts of waste in the forms of CF-reinforced composites and dry CF scrap. The latter group which is mainly in the form of short fibres is generated during manufacturing of CF-reinforced composites and comprises a significant portion of...

Translating the excellent properties of two‐dimensional Ti3C2Tx MXene sheets into bulk architectures, both pure and composite, remains challenging due to several factors, including poor inter‐sheet connectivity, uncontrolled spacing and sheet‐misalignment In article number 2002043, Ken Aldren S. Usman, Jizhen Zhang, Joselito M. Razal, and co‐worker...

Superelastic aerogels with excellent electrical conductivity, reversible compressibility, and high durability hold great potential for varied emerging applications, ranging from wearable electronics to multifunctional scaffolds. In the present work, superelastic MXene/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) aerogels are fabricated by mixing MXene and GO flake...

Tremendous efforts have been dedicated towards high-performance energy storage devices though material innovation, nanoscale structural design and hybrid fabrication approaches. A crucial technique to tune the properties of nanomaterials, such as MXene, is through introducing defects or heteroatom dopants. To improve the level of nitrogen dopant, a...

Piezoelectric fluoropolymers convert mechanical energy to electricity and are ideal for sustainably providing power to electronic devices. To convert mechanical energy, a net polarization must be induced in the fluoropolymer, which is currently achieved via an energy intensive electrical poling process. Eliminating this process will enable the low-...

On September 25, 2020, the Philippine chemistry society lost one of its most eminent members. Herein we reflect on the life and work of Dr. Leon M. Payawan Jr., referred to as Leon by his close friends and colleagues. We highlight some of his contributions that left a huge impact, not only to his students and cohorts, but also to the Philippine res...

Downsizing metal-organic framework (MOF) crystals into the nanoregime offers a promising approach to further benefit from their inherent versatile pore structures and surface reactivity. In this article, downsizing is referred to as the deliberate production of typical large MOF crystals into their nanosized versions. Here, we discuss various strat...

We demonstrate the first use of pure films of two dimensional (2D) transition metal carbides and nitrides (Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene) as a novel electrode material for electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL). The Ti 3 C 2 T x ...

Photocatalysis is a promising technology used in wastewater treatment. However, the practical application of this approach has been hindered by several factors. One issue is the aggregation of the photocatalyst in solution which leads to significant decrease in catalytic efficiency. Recent innovations in photochemical research have geared towards i...

2D transition metal carbides and nitrides called "MXene" are recent exciting additions to the 2D nanomaterials family. The high electrical conductivity, specific capacitance, and hydrophilic nature of MXenes rival many other 2D nanosheets and have made MXenes excellent candidates for diverse applications including energy storage, electromagnetic sh...

This work demonstrates a simple, reproducible and scalable method of producing a potential slow-release fertilizer material. In this study, oxalate-phosphate-amine metal organic frameworks (OPA-MOFs) powder was synthesized from the hydrothermal treatment of ferric chloride (FeCl 3 •6H 2 O), orthophosphoric acid (H 3 PO 4), oxalic acid dihydrate (H...

Rice hull, a known agricultural waste product, with 21% silica (SiO2) content based on elemental analysis, is a promising starting material for zeolite Y synthesis. In this work, silica derived from rice hull samples were extracted via alkaline treatment using 4M NaOH at 130 °C - 150 °C. Further introduction of NaOH and inclusion of aluminium hydro...

Zn8(ad)4(BPDC)6O•2Me2NH2 (bioMOF1), a porous metal–organic framework with zinc-adeninate secondary building units (SBUs), interconnected via biphenyldicarboxylate linkers, shows great potential for drug delivery applications due to its non-toxic and biocompatible components (zinc and adenine). In this study, bioMOF1 crystals synthesized solvotherma...

Titania (TiO2) nanoparticles were synthesized through sol-gel method and stabilized by polypyrrole through photopolymerization. The titania-polypyrrole (TP) nanocomposites were then characterized on the basis of particle size, stability, dispersity, band gap energy, and surface morphology. Using dynamic light scattering, TP products of varied mole...

Abstract. Trivalent iridium complexes have been recently studied due to the extent of its overlap with the solar spectrum as well as the accessibility of its ligand-ligand charge transfer (LLCT) transition in the UV region. Entrapment of the complex inside faujasitic zeolite NaY converts the dye molecule into a heterogeneous catalyst that has great...

Abstract. In this work, Poly(Acrylic Acid) (PAA) was employed as nanoparticle stabilizer for TiO2. Adsorption and encapsulation of nanoparticles in polyelectrolytes impart stability due to stearic and electrostatic effects. Crosslinking of the polymer through UV-Irradiation permanently encapsulates the metal as well as reinforces the polymer cage....

Abstract. Drug delivery systems using polymeric materials have been under intensive investigation and have been reported to show effective drug targeting specificity, lowering system drug toxicity, improving treatment absorption rates, and providing enteric coatings against biochemical degradation. The layer–by–layer (Lbl) assembly of polyelectroly...

Incorporation of photosensitizer complex, Ir(bpy)3 3+ inside zeolite Y supercages was done via “ship-in-a-bottle” synthesis method. Elemental analysis of the Ir(III) exchanged – zeolite Y showed that the ratio of Ir to Al to Si (Ir : Al : Si) was 1 : 1.6 : 2. The light-harvesting ability of the iridium complex has been observed in the absorption sp...

Self-regulated drug delivery systems (DDS) are potential alternative to the conventional method of introducing insulin to the body due to their controlled drug release mechanism. In this study, Layer-by-Layer technique was utlized to manufacture drug loaded, pH responsive thin films. Insulin was alternated with pH-sensitive, [2-(dimethyl amino) eth...

Photochemical treatment using ultraviolet radiation was used to prepare fluorescent silver nanoparticles/nanoclusters from AgNO3 precursor upon its encapsulation with Poly (Acrylic Acid). Spectrofluorometric analysis showed an excitation spectra with maxima at approximately 450 nm and 550 regions nm when fixed wavelength of 600 nm was used to scan...

Abstract. Adsorption and encapsulation of the nanoparticles in polyelectrolytes impart stability to the nanometal by preventing aggregation through electrostatic and steric effects. Poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) was employed as a polymer cap to anatase titania nanoparticles. Cross-linking of the polymer was done via free-radical cross-linking using gamm...

nanomaterials into thin films. However, the retention of the optical and photogalvanic property of the nanoparticles and the functionalization of these materials are the common issues raised regarding this technique. In this study, L-b-L thin films were prepared from γ-radiation reduced,silver/poly(acrylic acid)nanocomposites (Ag/PAA). Negatively s...

Fluorescent silver nanoparticles/nanoclusters were produced from AgNO3 precursor upon its encapsulation with Poly(Acrylic Acid) and stabilization via free radical reduction using gamma-irradiation. Fluorescence spectra showed highest emission peaks around 730 nm and 775 nm when fixed wavelengths of 300 nm and 350 nm, respectively, were used to exci...