Project Description

Environmental systems such as surface water, groundwater, wastewater, coastal waters, and engineered treatment systems are increasingly impacted by chemical pollution arising from urbanization, industrial activity, and agricultural practices. In arid and coastal regions, including the UAE, the reliance on desalinated water and treated wastewater reuse places an additional emphasis on reliable, high-resolution monitoring to ensure environmental safety and public health. These challenges motivate the development of analytical tools capable of sensitive, selective, and in-situ monitoring in complex environmental matrices.

This Ph.D. project focuses on the development of electrochemical sensing platforms for environmental systems, grounded in analytical electrochemistry and chemically selective interface design. Target analytes may include pharmaceutical residues, endocrine-disrupting chemicals, pesticides, heavy metals, and emerging contaminants relevant to water quality, wastewater reuse, and environmental surveillance. While advanced chromatographic techniques provide excellent analytical performance, their reliance on centralized laboratories limits their applicability for continuous and decentralized environmental monitoring.

The research will emphasize the rational design of a functional electrode interface, integrating synthetic molecular recognition elements with advanced electrochemical transduction. A particular focus will be placed on molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs), conducting polymers, and redox-active layers combined with carbon-based materials and laser-induced graphene. Signal amplification strategies involving metal/metal oxide nanoparticles and metal-organic frameworks will be explored to enhance sensitivity and operational stability in real environmental samples.

The Ph.D. candidate will work across the full-sensor development workflow, including electrode fabrication, material synthesis, surface modification, physicochemical characterization, and electrochemical analysis. Characterization techniques such as SEM, TEM, Raman, FT-IR, and others will be used alongside electrochemical techniques such as cyclic voltammetry, differential pulse voltammetry, square-wave voltammetry, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Emphasis will be placed on analytical validation, reproducibility, and testing in complex environmental matrices, including desalinated water, wastewater, seawater, and field-relevant samples.

All in all, the project aims to contribute to robust, chemistry-driven sensing technologies that bridge fundamental electroanalysis with real environmental applications, aligned with sustainability and water-security challenges in the UAE and beyond.