Dr Foad Raji

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

School of Chemical Engineering

f.raji@uq.edu.au

Researcher biography

Dr. Foad Raji is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Queensland (UQ), Australia. He was awarded an RTP Scholarship by the Australian Government, enabling him to pursue his PhD in Chemical Engineering at UQ under the supervision of Professor Anh V Nguyen. In 2022, he successfully completed his doctorate, focusing on the intricate "specific ions effects" of heavy metal ions at the silica-water interface by exploring the structure and orientation of interfacial water molecules through the in-situ surface specific Sum Frequency Generation (SFG) spectroscopy as an advanced nonlinear optical technique. Upon earning his PhD, Dr. Raji joined UQ's Minerals and Energy Resources Processing group as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow. He currently works with Prof. Yongjun Peng, and his research delves into the complexities of froth flotation, examining the underlying principles of solution chemistry, colloid/surface chemistry, and electrochemistry. He is particularly passionate about the development of biopolymers as eco-friendly depressants for pyrrhotite rejection in copper-gold ore flotation, as well as investigating the intricate mechanisms of interaction between biopolymers and other flotation chemicals with gold surfaces, contributing to the advancement of sustainable practices in mineral processing.

Publications

Journal Articles (17)

Thesis (1)

Journal Articles

Raji, Foad, Nguyen, Ngoc N., Nguyen, Cuong V. and Nguyen, Anh V. (2024). Lead (II) ions enable the ion-specific effects of monovalent anions on the molecular structure and interactions at silica/aqueous interfaces. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 662, 653-662. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2024.02.094

Rezvani, Alireza, Raji, Foad, Liu, Qi and Peng, Yongjun (2024). Unveiling different pyrrhotite superstructures in copper-gold ore samples: Insights from advanced spectroscopic and microscopic characterization. Minerals Engineering, 206 108536, 1-12. doi: 10.1016/j.mineng.2023.108536

Doi, Andrew, Nguyen, Tuan A. H., Nguyen, Ngoc N., Nguyen, Cuong V., Raji, Foad and Nguyen, Anh V. (2023). Enhancing shear strength and handleability of dewatered clay-rich coal tailings for dry-stacking. Journal of Environmental Management, 344 118488, 118488. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118488

Raji, Foad, Nguyen, Cuong V., Nguyen, Ngoc N., Nguyen, Tuan A. H. and Nguyen, Anh V. (2023). Probing interfacial water structure induced by charge reversal and hydrophobicity of silica surface in the presence of divalent heavy metal ions using sum frequency generation spectroscopy. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 647, 152-162. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.05.125

Nguyen, Thao, Raji, Foad, Nguyen, Cuong, Nguyen, Ngoc and Nguyen, Anh V. (2023). Effects of charged surfactants on interfacial water structure and macroscopic properties of the air‐water interface. ChemPhysChem, 24 (23) e202300062, e202300062. doi: 10.1002/cphc.202300062

Jourbonyan, Mahboubeh, Safarnia, Mehrnaz, Raji, Foad and Koohi, Ahmad Dadvand (2023). Magnetic sodium alginate/hydroxyapatite nanocomposite as an efficient biosorbent for rapid adsorption of methylene blue. Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering, 40 (1), 124-135. doi: 10.1007/s11814-022-1203-3

Raji, Foad, Nguyen, Ngoc N., Nguyen, Cuong V., Nguyen, Tuan A. H. and Nguyen, Anh V. (2022). Molecular signature of an unexpected hydrophobization of silica surfaces in lead nitrate solutions as detected by sum frequency generation spectroscopy. The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 126 (51), 21699-21707. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.2c07909

Raji, Foad, Nguyen, Cuong V. and Nguyen, Anh V. (2022). Quantifying the effect of polynuclear hydroxocomplex adsorption on the charge reversals at solid surfaces. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 10 (2) 107126, 107126. doi: 10.1016/j.jece.2021.107126

Pakizeh, Majid, Azinfar, Ferial, Safarnia, Mehrnnaz and Raji, Foad (2021). The effects of TiO2 nanoparticles and polydopamine on the structure, separation, and antifouling properties of PPSU membrane. Separation Science and Technology (Philadelphia), 57 (11), 1788-1799. doi: 10.1080/01496395.2021.2006230

Raji, Foad, Ejtemaei, Majid and Nguyen, Anh.V. (2020). Resolving the mystery of the second charge reversal on solid surfaces in the presence of divalent heavy metal ions. Applied Surface Science, 529 147128, 147128. doi: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2020.147128

Ramezani, Nima, Raji, Foad, Rezakazemi, Mashallah and Younas, Mohammad (2020). Juglone extraction from walnut (Juglans regia L.) green husk by supercritical CO2: process optimization using Taguchi method. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 8 (3) 103776, 103776. doi: 10.1016/j.jece.2020.103776

Saraeian, Alireza, Hadi, Atefe, Raji, Foad, Ghassemi, Abbas and Johnson, Michael (2018). Cadmium removal from aqueous solution by low-cost native and surface modified Sorghum x drummondii (Sudangrass). Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 6 (2), 3322-3331. doi: 10.1016/j.jece.2018.05.018

Ghorbani, Masoomeh, Nowee, Seyyed Mostafa, Ramezanian, Navid and Raji, Foad (2016). A new nanostructured material amino functionalized mesoporous silica synthesized via co-condensation method for Pb(II) and Ni(II) ion sorption from aqueous solution. Hydrometallurgy, 161, 117-126. doi: 10.1016/j.hydromet.2016.02.002

Raji, Foad, Pakizeh, Majid, Saraeian, Alireza and Raji, Mojtaba (2016). A detailed study on adsorption isotherms of Hg(II) removal from aqueous solutions using nanostructured sorbent ZnCl2-MCM-41. Desalination and Water Treatment, 57 (40), 18694-18709. doi: 10.1080/19443994.2015.1091997

Raji, Foad, Saraeian, Alireza, Pakizeh, Majid and Attarzadeh, Faridreza (2015). Removal of Pb(II) from aqueous solution by mesoporous silica MCM-41 modified by ZnCl2: kinetics, thermodynamics, and isotherms. RSC Advances, 5 (46), 37066-37077. doi: 10.1039/c5ra01192b

Raji, Foad and Pakizeh, Majid (2014). Kinetic and thermodynamic studies of Hg(II) adsorption onto MCM-41 modified by ZnCl2. Applied Surface Science, 301, 568-575. doi: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2014.02.136

Raji, F. and Pakizeh, M. (2013). Study of Hg(II) species removal from aqueous solution using hybrid ZnCl2-MCM-41 adsorbent. Applied Surface Science, 282, 415-424. doi: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2013.05.145

Thesis

Raji, Foad (2022). Ion specific effects of divalent heavy metal ions sorption at the silica-water interface. PhD Thesis, School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Queensland. doi: 10.14264/390d812