The first place winner at National Science Promotion Program (NSPP) – 2021 express and share their experience. The winning project was “Silver grafted Ti3C2-MXene Nanocomposite as Novel Anode Materials for Lithium-Ion-Battery” by Dr. Abdul Shakoor, Research Assistant Professor at Centre for Advanced Materials – Qatar University.
The two high school students who got the opportunity to work on the project were Saqer Hamad E S Al-Rumaihi and Essa Ahmad E A Al-Mohannadi from Jassim Bin Hamad secondary school for boys.
The aim of the “National Science Promotion Program” (NSPP) is to promote research culture and increase the research capacity by endorsing tools such as “Learning by Doing” and “Hands-On experience.” By using such tools in the high school education system, students will be more encouraged to do research and benefit Qatar. Through this process, students will get an opportunity to experience research under faculty mentors’ supervision from the university. Simultaneously, the NSPP grant will provide training to prepare the students to join the university.
Discussing about the topic of the research, Dr. Abdul Shakoor said: “Our proposal was about silver grafted titanium carbide MXene nanocomposites, as a novel anode material for lithium-ion batteries. In the energy storage field, the batteries are composed of cathode, anode, and electrolyte. Every compartment of the battery is important and that’s why people are researching new anode materials. MXene has proven to be a fascinating material with its numerous applications. Thus, we used MXene and silver to make a new anode material for lithium-ion batteries. The new materials worked very well for the battery performance.”
Speaking about the technical skills they have gained while working on the project, Dr. Abdul said, “This program has provided the student with a unique experience of working in the university laboratory in the field of nanomaterials, energy storage devices, and electrochemistry. We started with the basic electrochemistry, which is taught at the school level. Then we guided them to learn about the synthesis of materials, and characterization of the developed materials. The student analyzed the developed materials through XRD, a scanning electron microscope. They also evaluated the performance of the new materials. Thus, we aimed at providing the students with all the required knowledge regarding material synthesis, material characterization, nanotechnology, and electrochemistry.”
Speaking with the two students to ask about their experience, they said, “We learnt the working of many sophisticated laboratory instruments, using and preparing many different chemicals, materials synthesis techniques, sample characterizations using XRD, scanning electron microscopes and etc.”
While sharing their opinion on National Science Promotion Program (NSPP), the students said, “We think the program is very beneficial to high school students. Students get a lot of things and learn, a lot of things and experience, collaboration with many departments, etc. We had a wonderful experience with supervisors and teachers. The program was really very helpful and we think every student should work out to get into this kind of program.”
On this regard Dr. Abdul said, “It is a nice addition to Qatar University’s ongoing research program. It is a very unique and wonderful opportunity for high school students to come to the University and interact with experts, and researchers. They get a unique opportunity to work with dedicated researchers who are internationally recognized and moreover they come across to interact and learn about the fascinating facility of material synthesis and characterization at Qatar University. So, it is really a wonderful and exciting opening for students. Thus, I strongly recommend continuing the program for the benefit of high school students and undergraduates.”
Qatar University National Science Promotion Program (NSPP) is a national bridging program to build the national capacity and is focused on the smooth transition of high school students to the University by engaging them in excelling towards learning and scientific research. It is a promising initiation from Qatar University aligning to the goals set under the pillar ‘Human Development’ supporting the Qatar National Vision 2030 and promoting youth empowerment through research and innovation programs.
Source: QATAR UNIVERSITY