DR. ZIA UR REHMAN

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
  • Department of Mathematics
  • zia.rehman@namal.edu.pk
Summary

Currently, I am working as an Assistant Professor of Physics at the Department of Mathematics, Namal University in Mianwali, Pakistan. I earned my PhD (Applied Physics) in 2018 from Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Malaysia. Formerly I served as a lecturer for six years at Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology, Islamabad. I have over 15 years of experience in teaching and conducting research at the university level in the fields of Applied Physics and Material Science. I have published 30 papers with an impact factor of 90+ and more than 306 citations, as well as 6 conference publications & invited talks at different conferences. Currently I am involved with multiple active national and international research groups. My research interests include Density Functional Theory, Material Science, Computational Condensed Matter Physics, 1D and 2D materials, Nanomaterials, CVD, heterogeneous catalysis, Photovoltaics, Hydrogen storage, Molecular dynamics, and Adsorption. I have also served as a session co-chair and invited speaker at Nanotech-2018 and Gavin conferences. I am a reviewer of several impact factor journals. Throughout my career, I have been involved in research and academics, including teaching, administration, research supervision, counseling, and managing students' education in the field of Applied Physics. Additionally, I worked on industrial projects and have arranged experimental demonstrations and visits to state-of-the-art research labs. I have been honored with prestigious awards, including a Gold Medal for innovation at ITEX Malaysia 2017 and multiple scholarships for academic excellence. I have served in various leadership and committee roles at Namal since 2019, including Convener, Patron, and Member across multiple academic and administrative committees.

Academic Background
PhD ( Optimization of urea yield using a one-step method with magnetically activated carbon nanotube catalyst) Univerisiti Teknologi PETRONAS 2018
Experience
Assistant Prof Namal University Mianwali 01-Jul-2019 - continue
GA Univerisiti Teknologi PETRONAS 08-Jul-2014 - 07-Jul-2018
Lecturer Federal Urdu University 17-Mar-2008 - 30-Jun-2014
Honours and Awards
ITEX 2017 Gold Medal for the invention "Next generation green and economic urea" ITEX 2017 Gold Medal for the invention 13-May-2017
show cased the invention "Next generation green and economical urea" 28th international invention, innovation & technology exhibition 2017 13-May-2017
Journal Publications
Hydrogen storage application of Zn-based hydride-perovskites: a computational insight 05-Sep-2024 Optical and Quantum Electronics, 56, 1478 (2024).
Exploring the hydrogen storage in novel perovskite hydrides: A DFT study 20-Aug-2024 International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Volume 84, 26 September 2024, Pages 447-456
Computational insights into the multifunctional properties of Li2AgBiX6 (X=Cl, Br, I) double perovskite materials 12-Aug-2024 Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing, Volume 184, December 2024, 108793
A comprehensive ab-initio study of Cs3Sb2X9 (X= Cl, Br) novel halide perovskites for solar cell applications 25-Jul-2024 Physica B: Condensed Matter, Volume 691, 15 October 2024, 416346
Preparation of ZnO-MWCNTS nanocomposite: structural features and applications for enhanced oil recovery 06-Nov-2019 Since last few decades, the importance of tertiary oil recovery is increasing day by day. Quest for novel hydrophobic materials compatible to oil for enhanced recovery using electromagnetic is the major focus in this field. In the present study, we present ZnO-MWCNT nanocomposite prepared using sol-gel technique for the application of enhanced oil recovery. XRD analysis shows that average particle size in the range of 30-39 nm. Morphology analysis showed that ZnO are coated on the surface of the MWCNT. Vibrational analysis indicated that ZnO-MWCNT nanocomposite exhibited E2 (high) mode of ZnO and G (sp2 carbon) bands of MWCNTs and intense sharp peak of Zn-O stretching bond. A 11.11% of oil recovery was observed using ZnO-MWCNT composite nanofluid. This recovery further enhanced to 16.10% under the effect of electromagnetic field. Therefore, this novel material can be used to enhance oil recovery with application of EM waves. [Received: September 7, 2017; Accepted: March 28, 2018]
MWCNT for ambient urea synthesis 15-Sep-2018 Highlights • Effect of adsorption of reactant gases on orbital energy states of CNT • Effect of strength of magnetic field on the urea yield using CNT nanocatalyst • Simultaneous effect of flow rate, magnetic field strength and duration of reaction . Engtangled MWCNT were synthesized using substrate free floating catalyst chemical vapor deposition technique . MWCNT synthesized had hematite and magnetite encapsulated inside, two clear XRD peaks show the presence of non aligned CNT • The maximum urea yield (using optimization) was accomplished by applying 1.25 T of magnetic field and using 0.25 L/min of flow rate for a reaction time of one minute. • Using lower flow rate and high magnetic field strength improved urea yield.
CO2 Mixture Adsorption at Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube: Effects from Different Gases and Stoichiometric Ratios 01-Jun-2018 Using adsorption locator for the most stable adsorption site searches, the authors investigated adsorption of mixture of gases with different carbon dioxide mole ratio at a single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT). A total of six mixtures were investigated, two mixtures consist of hydrogen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide with compositions 3:1:1 and 3:1:2. Whereas the reaming four mixtures consist of ammonia and carbon dioxide with compositions 5:1, 4:1, 3:1 and 3:2. Results demonstrated that gas interactions with carbon nanotubes increased as the mole ratio of carbon dioxide increased in H2, N2 and CO2 mixture, conversely decreased for NH3 and CO2 mixture. After increasing CO2 mole fraction from 1/5 to 1/3 for hydrogen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide mixture, adsorption energy and rate on carbon nanotube atoms increased by 45 and 33%, respectively, due to a 59% increase in van der Waal interactions. The preferred molar ratio of H2, N2 and CO2 mixture for adsorption is 3:1:2. The maximum adsorption energy and rate for NH3 and CO2 mixture is obtained using the 5:1 sample. Adsorption energy for the NH3 and CO2 mixtures increased by 18% when the ratio changed from 3:1 to 3:2 while the adsorption rate decreased considerably.
Green urea synthesis catalyzed by hematite nanowires in magnetic field 15-Apr-2017 Highlights Catalytic activity of hematite nanocatalyst enhanced by changing the surface magnetic moment. Catalytic activity of hematite nanowires is better than nanoparticles. Activation energy of hematite nanowires is lower than nanoparticles. CO2 has significant role to produce urea.
The enhancement of the magnetic properties of ?-Fe2O3 nanocatalyst using an external magnetic field for the production of green ammonia 01-Mar-2017 Highlights • External magnetic field was applied during syntheses of α-Fe2O3 nanocatalyst. • α-Fe2O3 nanocatalyst with enhanced magnetic properties was synthesized. • Effect of magnetic properties and morphology of α-Fe2O3 on ammonia yield was tested. • α-Fe2O3 nanowires with improved saturation magnetization created high ammonia yield. • A maximum green ammonia yield of 24.174 × 10−3 mol h−1 g cat−1 was produced.
Courses
  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Physics-II
  • Physics-I
  • Methods and Techniques of Experimental physics
  • Introduction to Laser Physics
  • Introduction to Nuclear Physics
  • Oscillation waves and Optics
  • Statistical Physics-I
  • Electrodynamics
  • Classical Mechanics
  • Quantum Mechanics-I
  • Atomic and molecular Physics