Centre for Sustainable Materials Research & Technology (SMaRT)
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Rasoul completed his Bachelor and Master’s degrees in Materials Science and Engineering. To improve his skills, he finished his second Master in MBA in 2013. He joined SMaRT Centre at UNSW in 2016 for PhD to work on a project with the aim of having a greener environment, under the title of “Zero-Waste Approaches in Valorisation of Electronic waste (e-waste) Materials”. For part of his PhD, he worked at MIT (US) and University of Edinburg (UK) as a visiting researcher to develop a sustainable nanoscale material from e-waste. He graduated in 2020 from UNSW and is supporting SMaRT Centre as a Research Associate with the focus on the valorisation of waste materials for development of advanced and functional materials applied in energy storage applications, i.e., batteries, pseudocapacitors, and supercapacitor. The record of his publications, achievements, and CV are available in his Google Scholar and LinkedIn profiles.
Abideen ZU; Khayyam Nekouei R; Hajian Foroushani M; Maroufi S; Pahlevani F; Sahajwalla V, 2025, 'Regenerated and reformed gold and titanium dioxide quantum dots from waste for sustainable and efficient environmental monitoring', Nanoscale, 17, pp. 14368 - 14380, http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/d4nr04726e
Journal articles | 2025
Foroushani MH; Maroufi S; Nekouei RK; Aziz M; Sahajwalla V, 2025, 'Sustainable and dual-optimized electrode design from waste resources for high-energy lithium–sulfur batteries', Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 13, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2025.118114
Journal articles | 2025
Hajian Foroushani M; Maroufi S; Khayyam Nekouei R; Sahajwalla V, 2025, 'Artificial solid electrolyte interphase: The Holy Grail for Li-S batteries', Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 212, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2025.115453
Journal articles | 2025
Hajian Foroushani M; Maroufi S; Khayyam Nekouei R; Sahajwalla V, 2025, 'Sustainable energy storage: Microwave-assisted repurposing of disposable masks', Journal of Energy Storage, 112, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.est.2025.115510
Journal articles | 2025
Hajian Foroushani M; Maroufi S; Khayyam Nekouei R; Sahajwalla V, 2025, 'Waste-Derived Zn-Based ASEI Layer for Enhanced Lithium Anodes in Lithium–Sulfur Batteries', Advanced Sustainable Systems, 9, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/adsu.202401055
Journal articles | 2025
Kh. Nekouei R; Salehi H; Hajian Foroushani M; Maroufi S; Sahajwalla V, 2025, 'Microrecycling of waste solar cells via an in-situ fluorine-generating thermal treatment for high purity silicon recovery', Resources Conservation and Recycling, 215, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2025.108150
Journal articles | 2025
Kumar R; Nekouei RK; Sahajwalla V, 2025, 'In-situ carbon-coated iron oxide (ISCC-Fe3O4) as an efficient electrode material for supercapacitor applications', Ceramics International, 51, pp. 12312 - 12320, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2025.01.071
Journal articles | 2025
Salehi H; Maroufi S; Kh. Nekouei R; Chinu K; Sahajwalla V, 2025, 'Tailored separation of light rare earth elements using combined oxidative precipitation and multi-stage solvent extraction techniques', Separation and Purification Technology, 364, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2025.132566
Journal articles | 2025
Salehi H; Maroufi S; Khayyam Nekouei R; Sahajwalla V, 2025, 'Solvent extraction systems for selective isolation of light rare earth elements with high selectivity for Sm and La', Rare Metals, 44, pp. 2071 - 2084, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12598-024-03019-7
Journal articles | 2025
Ul Abideen Z; Nekouei RK; Hajian-Foroushani M; Maroufi S; Sahajwalla V, 2025, 'Greening of coffee waste through its transformation into clean and structurally stable activated carbon for energy storage applications', NANOSCALE ADVANCES, http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/d5na00658a
Journal articles | 2024
Ghasemian MB; Zavabeti A; Allioux FM; Sharma P; Mousavi M; Rahim MA; Khayyam Nekouei R; Tang J; Christofferson AJ; Meftahi N; Rafiezadeh S; Cheong S; Koshy P; Tilley RD; McConville CF; Russo SP; Ton-That C; Seidel J; Kalantar-Zadeh K, 2024, 'Liquid Metal Doping Induced Asymmetry in Two-Dimensional Metal Oxides', Small, 20, pp. e2309924, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/smll.202309924
Journal articles | 2024
Khayyam Nekouei R; Hajian-Foroushani M; Maroufi S; Sajjad SS; Akhter R; Biswal S; Bustamante H; Sahajwalla V, 2024, 'Microwave-assisted transforming of biosolids into engineered activated carbon employed for adsorption from wastewater', Journal of Cleaner Production, 467, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.142941
Journal articles | 2024
Khayyam Nekouei R; Maroufi S; S. Mofarah S; Sahajwalla V, 2024, 'Regeneration of waste Zn-MnO2 batteries: Value-added transformation to regenerate essential materials for sustainable battery manufacturing', Journal of Energy Storage, 80, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.est.2023.110159
Journal articles | 2024
Khayyam Nekouei R; Maroufi S; Sahajwalla V, 2024, 'Innovative hydrothermal technique in efficient disengagement of waste solar panels', Waste Management, 177, pp. 196 - 202, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2024.01.045
Journal articles | 2024
Khayyam Nekouei R; Maroufi S; Salehi H; Sahajwalla V, 2024, 'Chemical isolation of rare earth elements (as pure rare earth oxides) from Nd-Fe-B magnets and Ni-MH batteries', Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 12, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2024.112596
Journal articles | 2024
Salehi H; Khayyam Nekouei R; Maroufi S; Sahajwalla V, 2024, 'Sustainable recovery of rare earth elements from Ni-MH batteries: Flux-free thermal isolation and Subsequent hydrometallurgical refinement', Materials Today Sustainability, 27, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mtsust.2024.100849
Journal articles | 2024
Ubiç S; Nekouei RK; Sahajwalla V, 2024, 'A Two-Step Leaching Process Using Thiourea for the Recovery of Precious Metals from Waste Printed Circuit Boards', Waste, 2, pp. 312 - 336, http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/waste2030018
Fahimi A; Solorio H; Nekouei RK; Vahidi E, 2023, 'Analyzing the environmental impact of recovering critical materials from spent lithium-ion batteries through statistical optimization', Journal of Power Sources, 580, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2023.233425
Journal articles | 2023
Salehi H; Maroufi S; Mofarah SS; Nekouei RK; Sahajwalla V, 2023, 'Recovery of rare earth metals from Ni-MH batteries: A comprehensive review', Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 178, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2023.113248
Journal articles | 2022
Assefi M; S. Mofarah S; Maroufi S; Khayyam Nekouei R; Wang W; Kert E; Sahajwalla V, 2022, 'Regeneration of hydrogen through thermal micronisation of end-of-life polymers for sustainable reduction of iron oxide', Fuel Processing Technology, 226, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fuproc.2021.107038
Journal articles | 2022
Hossain R; Nekouei RK; Al Mahmood A; Sahajwalla V, 2022, 'Value-added fabrication of NiO-doped CuO nanoflakes from waste flexible printed circuit board for advanced photocatalytic application', Scientific Reports, 12, http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-16614-4
Journal articles | 2022
Khayyam Nekouei R; Mofarah S; Hossein R; Maroufi S; Sahajwalla V, 2022, 'Roles of experimental variables in optimised fabrication of microrecycled CuO-based photoelectrodes', Materials Today Sustainability, 18, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mtsust.2022.100111
Journal articles | 2022
Khayyam Nekouei R; S. Mofarah S; Maroufi S; Tudela I; Sahajwalla V, 2022, 'Determination of the optimum potential window for super- and pseudocapacitance electrodes via in-depth electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analysis', Journal of Energy Storage, 56, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.est.2022.106137
Journal articles | 2022
Khayyam Nekouei R; S. Mofarah S; Maroufi S; Wang W; Mansuri I; Sahajwalla V, 2022, 'Unraveling the Role of Oxides in Electrochemical Performance of Activated Carbons for High Voltage Symmetric Electric Double-Layer Capacitors', Advanced Energy and Sustainability Research, 3, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/aesr.202100130
Journal articles | 2022
Maroufi S; Mofarah SS; Khayyam Nekouei R; Sahajwalla V, 2022, 'Tailoring of a highly stable Mn1−x−y(CexLay)O2−δ pseudocapacitor thin-film and rare earth oxide nanospheres through selective purification of rare earth oxides derived from Ni-MH batteries', Green Chemistry, 24, pp. 1659 - 1672, http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/d1gc02802b
Journal articles | 2021
Hossain R; Nekouei RK; Mansuri I; Sahajwalla V, 2021, 'In-situ O/N-heteroatom enriched activated carbon by sustainable thermal transformation of waste coffee grounds for supercapacitor material', Journal of Energy Storage, 33, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.est.2020.102113
Journal articles | 2021
Khayyam Nekouei R; S. Mofarah S; Maroufi S; Cazorla C; O'Mullane AP; Yao Y; Lim S; Tricoli A; Sahajwalla V, 2021, 'Self-adhesive flexible patches of oxide heterojunctions with tailored band alignments for electrocatalytic H2O2generation', Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 9, pp. 26727 - 26740, http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/d1ta06473h
Journal articles | 2021
Khayyam Nekouei R; Tudela I; Mofarah SS; Vahidi E; Maroufi S; Wang K; Pahlevani F; Sahajwalla V, 2021, 'Dual functionality of mixed Cu-based two-dimensional (2D) heterostructures derived from electronic waste', Green Chemistry, 23, pp. 5511 - 5523, http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/d1gc00354b
Journal articles | 2021
Maroufi S; Khayyam Nekouei R; S. Mofarah S; O'Mullane AP; Yao Y; Lim S; Cazorla C; Sahajwalla V, 2021, 'Anionic Intercalation: Transparent and Flexible Mn1−x−y(CexLay)O2−δ Ultrathin‐Film Device for Highly‐Stable Pseudocapacitance Application (Adv. Funct. Mater. 30/2021)', Advanced Functional Materials, 31, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202170221
Journal articles | 2021
Maroufi S; Khayyam Nekouei R; S. Mofarah S; O'Mullane AP; Yao Y; Lim S; Cazorla C; Sahajwalla V, 2021, 'Transparent and Flexible Mn1−x−y(CexLay)O2−δ Ultrathin-Film Device for Highly-Stable Pseudocapacitance Application', Advanced Functional Materials, 31, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202100880
Journal articles | 2021
Maroufi S; Nekouei RK; Mofarah SS; Sahajwalla V, 2021, 'Nanoscale design of 1D metal oxides derived from mixed Ni-MH battery/transition metal dust', Journal of Hazardous Materials, 415, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.125645
Journal articles | 2021
Mofarah SS; Khayyam Nekouei R; Maroufi S; Biswal S; Lim S; Yao Y; Sahajwalla V, 2021, 'Controllable design of defect-rich hybrid iron oxide nanostructures on mesoporous carbon-based scaffold for pseudocapacitive applications', Nanoscale, 13, pp. 3662 - 3672, http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/d0nr06880b
Journal articles | 2020
Khayyam Nekouei R; Tudela I; Pahlevani F; Sahajwalla V, 2020, 'Current trends in direct transformation of waste printed circuit boards (WPCBs) into value-added materials and products', Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry, 24, pp. 14 - 20, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cogsc.2020.01.003
Journal articles | 2020
Kumar R; Nekouei RK; Sahajwalla V, 2020, 'In-situ carbon-coated tin oxide (ISCC-SnO2) for micro-supercapacitor applications', Carbon Letters, 30, pp. 699 - 707, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s42823-020-00142-0
Journal articles | 2020
Maroufi S; Assefi M; Khayyam Nekouei R; Sahajwalla V, 2020, 'Recovery of lithium and cobalt from waste lithium-ion batteries through a selective isolation-suspension approach', Sustainable Materials and Technologies, 23, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.susmat.2019.e00139
Journal articles | 2020
Nekouei RK; Maroufi S; Assefi M; Pahlevani F; Sahajwalla V, 2020, 'Thermal isolation of a clean alloy from waste slag and polymeric residue of electronic waste', Processes, 8, http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/pr8010053
Journal articles | 2019
Hossain R; Nekouei RK; Mansuri I; Sahajwalla V; Khayyam Nekouei R, 2019, 'Sustainable Recovery of Cu and Sn from Problematic Global Waste: Exploring Value from Waste Printed Circuit Boards', ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering, 7, pp. 1006 - 1017, http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.8b04657
Journal articles | 2019
Khayyam Nekouei R; Pahlevani F; Golmohammadzadeh R; Assefi M; Rajarao R; Chen YH; Sahajwalla V, 2019, 'Recovery of heavy metals from waste printed circuit boards: statistical optimization of leaching and residue characterization', Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 26, pp. 24417 - 24429, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-05596-y
Journal articles | 2019
Khayyam Nekouei R; Pahlevani F; Mayyas M; Maroufi S; Sahajwalla V, 2019, 'Direct transformation of waste printed circuit boards into high surface area t-SnO2 for photocatalytic dye degradation', Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 7, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2019.103133
Journal articles | 2019
Maroufi S; Khayyam Nekouei R; Sahajwalla V, 2019, 'An electrochemical strategy to fabricate MnOx thin film from spent batteries for pseudocapacitive applications', Electrochimica Acta, 328, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2019.135061
Journal articles | 2019
Mayyas M; Nekouei RK; Sahajwalla V, 2019, 'Valorization of lignin biomass as a carbon feedstock in steel industry: Iron oxide reduction, steel carburizing and slag foaming', Journal of Cleaner Production, 219, pp. 971 - 980, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.02.114
Journal articles | 2019
Nekouei RK; Pahlevani F; Assefi M; Maroufi S; Sahajwalla V, 2019, 'Selective isolation of heavy metals from spent electronic waste solution by macroporous ion-exchange resins', Journal of Hazardous Materials, 371, pp. 389 - 396, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2019.03.013
Journal articles | 2019
S. Mofarah S; Adabifiroozjaei E; Yao Y; Koshy P; Lim S; Webster R; Liu X; Khayyam Nekouei R; Cazorla C; Liu Z; Wang Y; Lambropoulos N; Sorrell CC, 2019, 'Proton-assisted creation of controllable volumetric oxygen vacancies in ultrathin CeO2−x for pseudocapacitive energy storage applications', Nature Communications, 10, http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-10621-2
Journal articles | 2018
Assefi M; Maroufi S; Nekouei RK; Sahajwalla V, 2018, 'Selective recovery of indium from scrap LCD panels using macroporous resins', Journal of Cleaner Production, 180, pp. 814 - 822, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.01.165
Journal articles | 2018
Maroufi S; Khayyam Nekouei R; Sahajwalla V, 2018, 'A Green Route to Synthesize Pr3+/Dy3+-Doped Nd2O3 Nanoreplicas from Nd-Fe-B Magnets', ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering, 6, pp. 3402 - 3410, http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.7b03585
Journal articles | 2018
Maroufi S; Mayyas M; Nekouei RK; Assefi M; Sahajwalla V, 2018, 'Thermal Nanowiring of E-Waste: A Sustainable Route for Synthesizing Green Si3N4 Nanowires', ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering, 6, pp. 3765 - 3772, http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.7b04139
Journal articles | 2018
Maroufi S; Nekouei RK; Assefi M; Sahajwalla V, 2018, 'Waste-cleaning waste: synthesis of ZnO porous nano-sheets from batteries for dye degradation', Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 25, pp. 28594 - 28600, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-2850-0
Journal articles | 2018
Maroufi S; Nekouei RK; Hassan K; Sahajwalla V, 2018, 'Thermal Transformation of Mixed E-Waste Materials into Clean SiMn/FeMn Alloys', ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering, 6, pp. 13296 - 13301, http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.8b02884
Journal articles | 2018
Maroufi S; Nekouei RK; Hossain R; Assefi M; Sahajwalla V, 2018, 'Recovery of Rare Earth (i.e., La, Ce, Nd, and Pr) Oxides from End-of-Life Ni-MH Battery via Thermal Isolation', ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering, 6, pp. 11811 - 11818, http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.8b02097
Journal articles | 2018
Nekouei R; Pahlevani F; Rajarao R; Golmohammadzadeh R; Sahajwalla V, 2018, 'Two-step pre-processing enrichment of waste printed circuit boards:
Mechanical milling and physical separation', Journal of Cleaner Production, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.02.250
Journal articles | 2018
Nekouei R; Pahlevani F; Rajarao R; Gomohammadzadeh R; Sahajwalla V; Khayyam Nekouei R, 2018, 'Direct transformation of waste printed circuit boards to nano-structured powders through mechanical alloying', Materials and Design, 141, pp. 26 - 36, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2017.12.032
Journal articles | 2017
Maroufi S; Khayyam Nekouei R; Sahajwalla V, 2017, 'Thermal Isolation of Rare Earth Oxides from Nd-Fe-B Magnets Using Carbon from Waste Tyres', ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering, 5, pp. 6201 - 6208, http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.7b01133
Journal articles | 2016
Nekouei RK; Akhaghi R; Ravanbakhsh A; Tahmasebi R; Moghaddam AJ; Mahrouei M, 2016, 'A study of the effect of two-stage tempering on mechanical properties of steel 30CrMnSi using analysis on response surface in design of experiment', Metal Science and Heat Treatment, 57, pp. 694 - 701, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11041-016-9945-3
Journal articles | 2016
Nekouei RK; Akhaghi R; Tahmasebi R; Ravanbakhsh A; Moghaddam AJ, 2016, 'Two-stage heat treatment of steel 30CrMnSi and its optimization', Metal Science and Heat Treatment, 58, pp. 362 - 368, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11041-016-0018-4
Journal articles | 2015
Dezfoolian M; Rashchi F; Nekouei RK, 2015, 'Synthesis of copper and zinc oxides nanostructures by brass anodization in alkaline media', Surface and Coatings Technology, 275, pp. 245 - 251, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.surfcoat.2015.05.011
Journal articles | 2014
Mortazavi SMR; Rashchi F; Nekouei RK, 2014, 'Characterization of nano-structured tin oxide film prepared by anodic oxidation process', Advanced Materials Research, 829, pp. 366 - 370, http://dx.doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.829.366
Journal articles | 2014
Ravanbakhsh A; Rashchi F; Sohi MH; Nekouei RK, 2014, 'Synthesis of nanostructured zinc oxide thin films by anodic oxidation method', Advanced Materials Research, 829, pp. 347 - 351, http://dx.doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.829.347
Journal articles | 2013
Nekouei RK; Rashchi F; Amadeh AA, 2013, 'Using design of experiments in synthesis of ultra-fine copper particles by electrolysis', Powder Technology, 237, pp. 165 - 171, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.powtec.2013.01.032
Journal articles | 2013
Nekouei RK; Rashchi F; Ravanbakhsh A, 2013, 'Copper nanopowder synthesis by electrolysis method in nitrate and sulfate solutions', Powder Technology, 250, pp. 91 - 96, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.powtec.2013.10.012
Journal articles | 2013
Nekouei SRK; Soleymani AP; Panjepour M, 2013, 'Thermodynamic study of cementite formation in Fe-C-O-H system', Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy Review, 34, pp. 176 - 184, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08827508.2012.656774
Journal articles | 2013
Nekouie RK; Rashchi F; Joda NN, 2013, 'Effect of organic additives on synthesis of copper nano powders by pulsing electrolysis', Powder Technology, 237, pp. 554 - 561, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.powtec.2012.12.046
Journal articles | 2013
Valighazvini F; Rashchi F; Khayyam Nekouei R, 2013, 'Recovery of titanium from blast furnace slag', Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, 52, pp. 1723 - 1730, http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/ie301837m
Conference Papers | 2023
Salehi H; Maroufi S; Nekouei RK; Sahajwalla V; Khayyam Nekouei R, 2023, 'Reclamation of Rare Earth Metals from Spent Ni-MH Batteries', in Proceedings - European Metallurgical Conference, EMC 2023, Duesseldorf, Germany, pp. 877 - 903, presented at European Metallurgical Conference 2023 (EMC 2023), Duesseldorf, Germany, 11 June 2023, http://dx.doi.org/10.26190/unsworks/30298
