All Outputs (50)

Ultra-high surface area ionic-liquid-derived carbons that meet both gravimetric and volumetric methane storage targets (2024)
Journal Article
Albeladi, N., Blankenship, L. S., & Mokaya, R. (2024). Ultra-high surface area ionic-liquid-derived carbons that meet both gravimetric and volumetric methane storage targets. Energy and Environmental Science, https://doi.org/10.1039/d3ee03957a

The storage of methane, to enable vehicular use, may be achieved in porous solids, but to date, there is no material that meets the gravimetric and volumetric targets (for example those set by the US Department of Energy, DOE) for such use. Here, in... Read More about Ultra-high surface area ionic-liquid-derived carbons that meet both gravimetric and volumetric methane storage targets.

Synthesis and Characterization of Doped Magnesium Hydroxide for Medium Heat Storage Application (2023)
Journal Article
Albeladi, N., Kur, A., Mokaya, R., Darkwa, J., Roger-Lund, S., Worall, M., …Boukhanouf, R. (2023). Synthesis and Characterization of Doped Magnesium Hydroxide for Medium Heat Storage Application. Materials, 16(18), Article 6296. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16186296

The amount of waste heat generated annually in the UK exceeds the total annual electricity demand. Hence, it is crucial to effectively harness all available sources of waste heat based on their varying temperatures. Through suitable technologies, a s... Read More about Synthesis and Characterization of Doped Magnesium Hydroxide for Medium Heat Storage Application.

A simple, sustainable route to flexible microporous carbon cloth for energy storage applications (2023)
Journal Article
Alkhaldi, T., Blankenship, L. S., & Mokaya, R. (2023). A simple, sustainable route to flexible microporous carbon cloth for energy storage applications. Materials Advances, 4(16), 3559-3571. https://doi.org/10.1039/d3ma00157a

Activated carbon cloth (ACC) has the potential to be extremely useful in gas capture and storage applications as it combines high porosity, robustness, and flexibility with ease of handling. While it has been produced by a few researchers, the synthe... Read More about A simple, sustainable route to flexible microporous carbon cloth for energy storage applications.

Solvothermal synthesis of organoclay/Cu-MOF composite and its application in film modified GCE for simultaneous electrochemical detection of deoxyepinephrine, acetaminophen and tyrosine (2023)
Journal Article
Mouafo-Tchinda, E., Kemmegne-Mbouguen, J. C., Nanseu-Njiki, C. P., Langmi, H. W., Kowenje, C., Musyoka, N. M., & Mokaya, R. (2023). Solvothermal synthesis of organoclay/Cu-MOF composite and its application in film modified GCE for simultaneous electrochemical detection of deoxyepinephrine, acetaminophen and tyrosine. RSC Advances, 13(30), 20816-20829. https://doi.org/10.1039/d3ra03850e

An organoclay/copper-based metal-organic framework (MOF) composite was synthesized using a solvothermal method by growing a Cu-BTC (copper(ii) benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylate) MOF from a mixture of the MOF precursor solution in which various amounts of... Read More about Solvothermal synthesis of organoclay/Cu-MOF composite and its application in film modified GCE for simultaneous electrochemical detection of deoxyepinephrine, acetaminophen and tyrosine.

Hydrothermal synthesis of zeolites using silica extracted from tropical volcanic ash (2023)
Journal Article
Otieno, S. O., Kengara, F. O., Kowenje, C. O., & Mokaya, R. (2023). Hydrothermal synthesis of zeolites using silica extracted from tropical volcanic ash. Materials Advances, 4(10), 2292-2300. https://doi.org/10.1039/d3ma00065f

This study addresses the reliance on costly aluminosilicate sources for the synthesis of zeolites by exploring the use of silica extracted from tropical volcanic ash. The volcanic ash contained CaO, in the form of calcite polymorph of CaCO3, and sili... Read More about Hydrothermal synthesis of zeolites using silica extracted from tropical volcanic ash.

Direct synthesis of organic salt-derived porous carbons for enhanced CO2 and methane storage (2023)
Journal Article
Alali, I., & Mokaya, R. (2023). Direct synthesis of organic salt-derived porous carbons for enhanced CO2 and methane storage. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 11(13), 6952-6965. https://doi.org/10.1039/d3ta00044c

The direct carbonisation of a carbon-rich organic salt, potassium phthalimide (PPI), generates porous carbons with porosity suitable for energy-related gas storage applications. The PPI-derived carbons exhibit high surface area of up to 2889 m2 g−1 a... Read More about Direct synthesis of organic salt-derived porous carbons for enhanced CO2 and methane storage.

Electrochemical Sensor for Ascorbic Acid, Acetaminophen and Nitrite Based on Organoclay/Zr-MOF Film Modified Glassy Carbon Electrode (2022)
Journal Article
Ngwem, M. C. N., Kemmegne‐Mbouguen, J. C., Langmi, H. W., Musyoka, N. M., & Mokaya, R. (2022). Electrochemical Sensor for Ascorbic Acid, Acetaminophen and Nitrite Based on Organoclay/Zr-MOF Film Modified Glassy Carbon Electrode. ChemistrySelect, 7(40), Article e202202308. https://doi.org/10.1002/slct.202202308

A composite (Sa-HTDMA/UiO-66) consisting of organoclay (Sa-HTDMA) and a metal-organic framework (UiO-66) was prepared using organically modified natural Cameroonian clay and Zr-MOF. The organoclay was obtained by intercalating in its interlayer hexad... Read More about Electrochemical Sensor for Ascorbic Acid, Acetaminophen and Nitrite Based on Organoclay/Zr-MOF Film Modified Glassy Carbon Electrode.

Brute force determination of the optimum pore sizes for CO2 uptake in turbostratic carbons (2022)
Journal Article
Blankenship, L. S., Albeladi, N., Alkhaldi, T., Madkhali, A., & Mokaya, R. (2022). Brute force determination of the optimum pore sizes for CO2 uptake in turbostratic carbons. Energy Advances, 1(12), 1009-1020. https://doi.org/10.1039/d2ya00149g

Porosity, and in particular pore size is one of the most important considerations in the development of porous carbons for CO2 capture. Current methods for determining the optimum pore size for adsorption of gases either make very broad assumptions (... Read More about Brute force determination of the optimum pore sizes for CO2 uptake in turbostratic carbons.

Generalised predictability in the synthesis of biocarbons as clean energy materials: targeted high performance CO2 and CH4 storage (2022)
Journal Article
Alali, I., & Mokaya, R. (2022). Generalised predictability in the synthesis of biocarbons as clean energy materials: targeted high performance CO2 and CH4 storage. Energy and Environmental Science, 15(11), 4710-4724. https://doi.org/10.1039/d2ee02322a

This work shows how knowledge of any biomass and choice of carbonisation process can offer a generalised route to predictability in the preparation of activated biocarbons. We demonstrate that based on O/C ratio of carbonaceous matter, it is possible... Read More about Generalised predictability in the synthesis of biocarbons as clean energy materials: targeted high performance CO2 and CH4 storage.

Optimization of biodiesel synthesis from Jatropha curcas oil using kaolin derived zeolite Na-X as a catalyst (2022)
Journal Article
Otieno, S., Kengara, F., Kowenje, C., & Mokaya, R. (2022). Optimization of biodiesel synthesis from Jatropha curcas oil using kaolin derived zeolite Na-X as a catalyst. RSC Advances, 12(35), 22792-22805. https://doi.org/10.1039/d2ra03278c

Biodiesel is an alternative renewable green fuel obtainable from the reaction of plant or animal oil with a low molecular weight alcohol in the presence of a catalyst. However, the cost of its production remains high due to costly feedstock, the majo... Read More about Optimization of biodiesel synthesis from Jatropha curcas oil using kaolin derived zeolite Na-X as a catalyst.

Rational synthesis of microporous carbons for enhanced post-combustion CO2 capture via non-hydroxide activation of air carbonised biomass (2022)
Journal Article
Altwala, A., & Mokaya, R. (2022). Rational synthesis of microporous carbons for enhanced post-combustion CO2 capture via non-hydroxide activation of air carbonised biomass. RSC Advances, 12(31), 20080-20087. https://doi.org/10.1039/d2ra02661a

This work explores the use of a less corrosive activating agent, potassium oxalate (PO), in combination with difficult to activate carbonaceous matter for the preparation of activated carbons. The design of the study allowed a fuller understanding of... Read More about Rational synthesis of microporous carbons for enhanced post-combustion CO2 capture via non-hydroxide activation of air carbonised biomass.

Modulating the porosity of activated carbons via pre-mixed precursors for simultaneously enhanced gravimetric and volumetric methane uptake (2022)
Journal Article
Altwala, A., & Mokaya, R. (2022). Modulating the porosity of activated carbons via pre-mixed precursors for simultaneously enhanced gravimetric and volumetric methane uptake. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 10(26), 13744-13757. https://doi.org/10.1039/d2ta00421f

Pre-mixed precursors containing biomass-derived carbonaceous matter of varying O/C ratio and polypyrrole have been used as starting materials to modulate the porosity of activated carbons. The use of pre-mixtures of polypyrrole and CNL carbon (from a... Read More about Modulating the porosity of activated carbons via pre-mixed precursors for simultaneously enhanced gravimetric and volumetric methane uptake.

Calcium coordination compounds of anionic forms of hydrogen dipicolinate and quinolinate: synthesis, characterization, crystal structures and DFT studies (2022)
Journal Article
Tella, A. C., Oladipo, A. C., Olayemi, V. T., Gordon, A., Ogunlaja, A. S., Alimi, L. O., …Walton, R. I. (2022). Calcium coordination compounds of anionic forms of hydrogen dipicolinate and quinolinate: synthesis, characterization, crystal structures and DFT studies. Structural Chemistry, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11224-022-01935-x

Two calcium coordination compounds [Ca(2,6-Hpdc)2(H2O)2] 1 and [Ca2(2,3-pdc)2(H2O)6]n2 (where 2,6-H2pdc = 2,6-pyridinedicarboxylic acid and 2,3-H2pdc = 2,3-pyridinedicarboxylic acid) were grown at room temperature. The compounds were characterized us... Read More about Calcium coordination compounds of anionic forms of hydrogen dipicolinate and quinolinate: synthesis, characterization, crystal structures and DFT studies.

Confirmation of pore formation mechanisms in biochars and activated carbons by dual isotherm analysis (2022)
Journal Article
Blankenship, L. S., Jagiello, J., & Mokaya, R. (2022). Confirmation of pore formation mechanisms in biochars and activated carbons by dual isotherm analysis. Materials Advances, https://doi.org/10.1039/d2ma00141a

In this study biochars and activated carbons were synthesized either directly via the pyrolysis of sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (NC) or via hydrothermal carbonization of sawdust (SD) in an aqueous solution of KOH. The amount of porogen was varied b... Read More about Confirmation of pore formation mechanisms in biochars and activated carbons by dual isotherm analysis.

Direct and mild non-hydroxide activation of biomass to carbons with enhanced CO2 storage capacity (2022)
Journal Article
Altwala, A., & Mokaya, R. (2022). Direct and mild non-hydroxide activation of biomass to carbons with enhanced CO2 storage capacity. Energy Advances, 1(4), 216-224. https://doi.org/10.1039/d1ya00085c

Potassium oxalate (PO) was trialled as a non-corrosive and less toxic activating agent for the direct activation of biomass (sawdust, SD). The PO + SD mixtures were activated either in powder form or after compaction into pellets. The resulting activ... Read More about Direct and mild non-hydroxide activation of biomass to carbons with enhanced CO2 storage capacity.

Modulating the porosity of carbons for improved adsorption of hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and methane: a review (2022)
Journal Article
Blankenship, L. S., & Mokaya, R. (2022). Modulating the porosity of carbons for improved adsorption of hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and methane: a review. Materials Advances, 3(4), 1905-1930. https://doi.org/10.1039/d1ma00911g

Porous carbons provide a low-cost route to a highly stable material for the adsorption of various gases. In particular, activated carbons (ACs) and zeolite templated carbons (ZTCs) show promise in their ability to capture and store environmentally re... Read More about Modulating the porosity of carbons for improved adsorption of hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and methane: a review.

Effect of kaolin pre-treatment method and NaOH levels on the structure and properties of kaolin-derived faujasite zeolites (2021)
Journal Article
Otieno, S., Kowenje, C., Kengara, F., & Mokaya, R. (2021). Effect of kaolin pre-treatment method and NaOH levels on the structure and properties of kaolin-derived faujasite zeolites. Materials Advances, 2(18), 5997-6010. https://doi.org/10.1039/d1ma00449b

Fusion with NaOH is considered effective in the conversion of kaolin to soluble aluminosilicates. However, to date, there is no consistency in the nature and type of zeolite structures prepared from kaolin via this approach, suggesting a lack of clar... Read More about Effect of kaolin pre-treatment method and NaOH levels on the structure and properties of kaolin-derived faujasite zeolites.

A Co-Crystallised Cobalt(II) Cluster of Pyridinedicarboxylic Acid (PDC) as a Luminescent Material for Selective Sensing of Methanol (2021)
Journal Article
Olayemi, V. T., Tella, A. C., Adekola, F. A., Clayton, H. S., Oladipo, A. C., Mehlana, G., …Mokaya, R. (2021). A Co-Crystallised Cobalt(II) Cluster of Pyridinedicarboxylic Acid (PDC) as a Luminescent Material for Selective Sensing of Methanol. Journal of Fluorescence, 31(4), 1177-1190. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10895-021-02746-9

A luminescent Cobalt(II) co-crystal [Co13(PDC)16(H2O)24.7H2O] 1 (where H2PDC = 2,6-pyridinedicarboxylic acid) have been prepared by oven-heating and slow evaporation of solvent. Single crystal X-ray diffraction (SCXRD) analysis revealed that 1 is a m... Read More about A Co-Crystallised Cobalt(II) Cluster of Pyridinedicarboxylic Acid (PDC) as a Luminescent Material for Selective Sensing of Methanol.

Potential of Bioenergy in Rural Ghana (2021)
Journal Article
Nelson, N., Darkwa, J., Calautit, J., Worall, M., Mokaya, R., Adjei, E., …Ahiekpor, J. (2021). Potential of Bioenergy in Rural Ghana. Sustainability, 13(1), Article 381. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13010381

Crop residues are common in rural Ghana due to the predominant role agriculture plays in livelihood activities in these communities. In this paper we investigate the prospects of exploiting agricultural crop residues for rural development in Ghana th... Read More about Potential of Bioenergy in Rural Ghana.

Co-pelletization of a zirconium-based metal-organic framework (UiO-66) with polymer nanofibers for improved useable capacity in hydrogen storage (2020)
Journal Article
Bambalaza, S. E., Langmi, H. W., Mokaya, R., Musyoka, N. M., & Khotseng, L. E. (2021). Co-pelletization of a zirconium-based metal-organic framework (UiO-66) with polymer nanofibers for improved useable capacity in hydrogen storage. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 46(12), 8607-8620. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2020.12.049

We report on a concept of co-pelletization using mechanically robust hydroxylated UiO-66 to develop a metal-organic framework (MOF) monolith that contains 5 wt% electrospun polymer nanofibers, and consists of an architecture with alternating layers o... Read More about Co-pelletization of a zirconium-based metal-organic framework (UiO-66) with polymer nanofibers for improved useable capacity in hydrogen storage.