Research Areas

The research at SusMatLab can be categorized into three thematic areas: Materials for Sustainable Infrastructure; Materials for Sustainable Energy; and Materials for Sustainable Environment. The focus of each thematic area is to employ both experimental and computational techniques to elucidate the composition-structure-processing-property relationships and apply the knowledge thereof in designing new high-performance and eco-efficient materials.

Materials for Sustainable Infrastructure

This research theme studies the chemistry and physics of construction materials with a focus on the application of the structure-property relationship principles, to design, synthesize, and develop new construction materials that feature high performance and high durability. We utilize both experimental and computational approaches and have applied such to a diverse range of construction material systems.

Selected publications:

  • Ewuzie, U.; Yusuf, A.O.; Damilola, D.; Okoronkwo, M.U. Investigating the thixotropy of fresh struvite cement-based composite: Insights on mechanisms of the pastes’ thixotropic behavior. Cement and Concrete Composites, 2025, 160, 106058. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2025.106058
  • Mondal, S. K.; Okoronkwo, M. U. Seeding Effects of Submicron CaAl-NO3 LDH Particles on the Hydration and Properties of Portland Cement and Sulfoaluminate Cement Pastes. Construction and Building Materials 2024, 423, 135870. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2024.135870.
  • Mondal, S.K. ¥.; Clinton, C. +; Ma, H.; Kumar, A.; Okoronkwo, M.U.*. Effect of Class C and Class F Fly Ash on Early-Age and Mature-Age Properties of Calcium Sulfoaluminate Cement Paste. Sustainability 2023, 15(3), 2501. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15032501.

Materials for Sustainable Energy

Materials for Sustainable Energy is one of our research themes that focuses on fundamental studies of the light-metal oxide electrides and microporous materials for energy applications, and finding ways to harness wastes from the energy industry for beneficial reuse.

Selected publications:

  • Yu, Z.; Okoronkwo, M. U.; Sant, G.; Misture, S. T.; Wang, B. Understanding Oxygen Nonstoichiometry in Mayenite: From Electride to Oxygen Radical Clathrate. Journal of Physical Chemistry C 2019, 123 (18), 11982–11992. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.9b01995.
  • Alghamdi, T.; Baamran, K. S.; Okoronkwo, M. U.; Rownaghi, A. A.; Rezaei, F. Metal-Doped K–Ca Double Salts with Improved Capture Performance and Stability for High-Temperature CO2 Adsorption. Energy Fuels 2021, 35 (5) 4258–4266. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.0c04385.

Materials for Sustainable Environment

Materials for sustainable environment is one of our research themes, which focuses on developing functional materials for environmental remediation.

Selected publications:

  • Mondal, S.K. ¥.; Wu, C.; Nwadire, F. C.; Rownaghi, A.; Kumar, A.; Adewuyi, Y.; Okoronkwo, M.U*. Examining the Effect of a Chitosan Biopolymer on Alkali-Activated Inorganic Material for Aqueous Pb(II) and Zn(II) Sorption. Langmuir 2022, 38 (3), 903-913. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.1c01829.
  • Mondal S.K.¥.; Welz A.+; Rownaghi A.; Wang, B.; Ma, H.; Rezaei, F.; Kumar, A.; Okoronkwo, M.U.*. Investigating the microstructure of high-calcium fly ash-based alkali-activated material for aqueous Zn sorption. Environmental Research. 2021, 198 110484. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2020.110484

Funding Sources