Dr Mbongiseni William Dlamini

Tel:                +27 (0) 12-420-2043
Email:           [email protected]
Office:           NS1 Building, Room 3-46

Position:       Senior Lecturer

Academic qualification: PhD

Teaching

Courses that are taught currently include: General Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry

Modules: CHM172, CMY285, CMY385

Overview

Dr Dlamini is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Chemistry, University of Pretoria. He obtained his PhD from the University of the Witwatersrand in 2016, working with Profs Neil Coville, Dave Billing and Linda Jewell. After which he was appointed as a Postdoctoral Fellow and later a Sessional Lecturer at the School of Chemistry (WITS). From 2019-2024, he joined the School of Chemistry at Cardiff University (United Kingdom) working as a Research Associate with Profs Graham Hutchings, Phil Davies and Richard Catlow in the Cardiff Catalysis Institute (CCI). In 2024, he joined the University of Pretoria. Dr Dlamini has worked with funding institutions such as the Centre of Excellence in Catalysis (c*change), the UK Catalysis Hub and CPLAS (UK).

Research interests

We have strong research interests on the synthesis of inorganic materials and in heterogeneous catalysis. Our research revolves around the design, synthesis, characterisation and evaluation of solid catalytic materials in reactions such as Fischer–Tropsch synthesis, CO₂ hydrogenation, CO oxidation, photo-reforming, production of oxidants and in water treatment. To study catalysis fundamentals, we sometimes use model catalyst architectures such as hollow, core-shell or rattle-type systems. This approach has provided unique insights on metal-support interactions, confinement effects, catalyst deactivation mechanisms or alloy formation in multi-metallic systems.

We are also interested in using transient methods to study structural/ surface changes to catalytic solids as well as the characterisation of in situ generated reactive species to help decipher reaction mechanisms. For instance, we use techniques such as in situ XRD and in situ DRIFTS to monitor structural and surface chemistry changes under operando FTS, while EPR is used to monitor and quantify reactive species generated during photocatalytic reactions.

Selected publications

View all publications here: Google Scholar Research Profile - Dr. MW Dlamini (William)

Journal articles

1. Cristina E. Stere, Maicon Delarmelina, Mbongiseni W. Dlamini, Sarayute Chansai, Philip R. Davies, Graham J. Hutchings, C. Richard A. Catlow, Christopher Hardacre, “Removal and oxidation of low concentration tert-Butanol from potable water using nonthermal plasma coupled with metal oxide adsorption”, ACS Es&t Engineering 2024, 4, 2121-2134.
2. Maicon Delarmelina, Mbongiseni W. Dlamini, Samuel Pattisson, Philip R. Davies, Graham J. Hutchings, C. Richard A. Catlow, “The effect of dissolved chlorides on the photocatalytic degradation properties of titania in wastewater treatment”, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics 2023, 25, 4161-4176.
3. Graham J. Hutchings, Philip R. Davies, Samuel Pattisson, Thomas E. Davies, David J. Morgan, Mbongiseni W. Dlamini, “Facile synthesis of a porous 3D g-C₃N₄ photocatalyst for the degradation of organics in shale gas brines”, Catalysis Communications 2022, 169, 106480.
4.  Tumelo N. Phaahlamohlaka, Mbongiseni W. Dlamini, David O. Kumi, Roy Forbes, Linda L. Jewell, Neil J. Coville, “Co inside hollow carbon spheres as a Fischer-Tropsch catalyst: Spillover effects from Ru placed inside and outside the HCS”, Applied Catalysis A: General 2020, 599, 117617.
5. Mbongiseni W. Dlamini, Tumelo N. Phaahlamohlaka, David O. Kumi, Roy Forbes, Linda L. Jewell, Neil J. Coville, “Post doped nitrogen-decorated hollow carbon spheres as a support for Co Fischer-Tropsch catalysts”, Catalysis Today 2020, 342, 99-110.
6. Thomas Caswell, Mbongiseni W. Dlamini, Peter J. Miedziak, Samuel Pattisson, Philip R. Davies, Stuart H. Taylor, Graham J. Hutchings, “Enhancement in the rate of nitrate degradation on Au-and Ag-decorated TiO₂ photocatalysts”, Catalysis Science & Technology 2020, 10, 2082-2091.
7. David O. Kumi, Mbongiseni W. Dlamini, Tumelo N. Phaahlamohlaka, Sabelo D. Mhlanga, Neil J. Coville, Mike S. Scurrell, “Selective CO methanation over Ru supported on carbon spheres: the effect of carbon functionalization on the reverse water gas shift reaction”, Catalysis Letters 2018, 148, 3502–3513.
8. David O. Kumi, Tumelo N. Phaahlamohlaka, Mbongiseni W. Dlamini, Ian T. Mangezvo, Sabelo D. Mhlanga, Michael S. Scurrell, Neil J. Coville, “Effect of a titania covering on CNTs as support for the Ru catalysed selective CO methanation”, Applied Catalysis B: Environmental 2018, 232, 492-500.
9. Tumelo N. Phaahlamohlaka, Mbongiseni W. Dlamini, Mashikoane W. Mogodi, David O. Kumi, Linda L. Jewell, David G. Billing, Neil J. Coville, “A sinter resistant Co Fischer-Tropsch catalyst promoted with Ru and supported on titania encapsulated by mesoporous silica”, Applied Catalysis A: General 2018, 552, 129-137.
10. Tumelo N Phaahlamohlaka, David O Kumi, Mbongiseni W Dlamini, Roy Forbes, Linda L Jewell, David G Billing, Neil J Coville, “Effects of Co and Ru intimacy in Fischer–Tropsch catalysts using hollow carbon sphere supports: assessment of the hydrogen spillover processes”, ACS Catalysis 2017, 7, 1568-1578.
11. Tumelo N. Phaahlamohlaka, David O. Kumi, Mbongiseni W. Dlamini, Linda L. Jewell, Neil J. Coville, “Ruthenium nanoparticles encapsulated inside porous hollow carbon spheres: A novel catalyst for Fischer–Tropsch synthesis”, Catalysis Today 2016, 275, 76-83.
12. Mbongiseni W Dlamini, Neil J Coville, Michael S Scurrell, “Microwave treatment: a facile method for the solid state modification of potassium-promoted iron on silica Fischer–Tropsch catalysts”, RSC Advances 2016, 6, 22222-22231.
13. W.M. Dlamini, N.J. Coville, M.S. Scurrell, “Microwave radiation in the modification of iron Fischer–Tropsch catalysts”, Journal of Molecular Catalysis A: Chemical 2015, 409, 19-25.
14. Mbongiseni W. Dlamini, David O. Kumi, Tumelo N. Phaahlamohlaka, Anton S. Lyadov, David G. Billing, Linda L. Jewell, Neil J. Coville, “Carbon spheres prepared by hydrothermal synthesis—a support for bimetallic iron cobalt Fischer–Tropsch catalysts”, ChemCatChem 2015, 7, 3000-3011.

Book Chapter

1. Xiaoxia Ou, Mbongiseni W. Dlamini, Marco Tomatis, Philip R. Davies, Graham J. Hutchings, Christopher Hardacre (2023), “Chapter 1: Catalytic treatment of high ionic strength wastewater from shale gas production”, in the book: Modern Developments in Catalysis Volume 2, 1-52, World Scientific Publishing Europe Ltd. ISBN: 978-1-80061-200-6.

Collaborations

1. School of Chemistry, Cardiff University, United Kingdom.
2. School of Chemistry, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.
3. School of Energy Science and Engineering, Central South University, China.
4. Department of Chemistry, University of Cape Town, South Africa.

Available positions

We are always searching for enthusiastic and hard-working MSc, PhD and Postdoctoral fellows. Forward enquiries to [email protected].